Thousands of Sainsbury's products to be stocked on shelves of Dobbies Garden Centres

Scottish headquartered Dobbies has 68 centres across the UK, including a major site at Lasswade. Picture by Stewart Attwood

The exclusive partnership is set to launch at Dobbies’ flagship garden centre on the outskirts of Edinburgh in late July. The range will include more than 3,000 lines, including ambient products, chilled, fresh and frozen produce as well as other grocery, household and toiletry items.

Midlothian-headquartered Dobbies has been stocking selected food products from Booths, the upmarket north-of-England chain.

Graeme Jenkins, chief executive of Dobbies, which has 68 centres across the UK, said: “The partnership between Dobbies and Sainsbury’s is an excellent fit, with a shared goal of offering the best to our customers.

Douglas Stewart, managing director of Stewart's Kitchen.

“By complementing our existing garden centre ranges with a comprehensive food and grocery offer, we will offer our customers a convenient solution for their grocery needs. We look forward to launching our first new look food hall at Edinburgh in late July.”

Chairman Andrew Bracey said: “Garden centres are increasingly popular, as people embrace the enjoyment of gardening. Our partnership with Sainsbury’s perfectly complements our strategy of offering the best possible ranges and convenience to customers.”

Mike Luck, director of business development at Sainsbury’s, added: “This opportunity with Dobbies will bring a fantastic choice of food and grocery products to convenient locations for lots of shoppers, helping them shop for what they need quickly and conveniently.”

Meanwhile in a separate supply deal unveiled today, Scottish pre-prepared meal firm Stewart’s Kitchen has secured a major retail deal in a move that has led to additional jobs at the firm.

A range of dishes and soups will now be available across 69 Co-op stores throughout Scotland. That will extend to 220 outlets for six weeks around Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight, which is due to take place between 5 and 20 September.

The dishes and soups are handmade using artisan produce by a small team of culinary masters at Stewart’s Kitchen, which has Hebridean roots. The firm was established by Douglas Stewart, a young entrepreneur hailing from North Uist.

Stewart, managing director, said: “Stewart’s Kitchen was born out of my mission to encourage more people to enjoy the bounty of incredible food produced on their doorstep, even for those whose busy lifestyles mean finding time to cook is often a struggle.

“This major deal with the Co-op will provide more people across Scotland with our pre-prepared handmade dishes and soups by our small team of talented chefs.”

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