A NEW Scottish city centre store is bringing together the country’s best independent food producers under one roof for the first time.
Foodies, which is providing retail space for more than 60 independent producers of high-quality, specialist, and artisan foods opened its doors in Glasgow’s Buchanan Galleries today.
It is a venture from the Scottish Design Exchange (SDX), which features the work of hundreds of artists and designers at three stores in Glasgow and Edinburgh, as well as through its online store.
Traders at its Foodies space include producers of coffee and specialist teas, honey, jams and chutneys, relishes and pickles, sauces, marinades, and glazes. The store will also sell, biscuits, chocolate, oatcakes, soft drinks, herbs, spices, and seasonings.
READ MORE: Scottish Ghostbusters movie planned by Hollywood star
The business is the brainchild of Lynzi Leroy, the chief executive of the not-for-profit SDX.
And the entrepreneur behind the venture revealed plans to open similar outlets across Scotland – if it proves to be a success.
Foodies will operate with the same business model as SDX, providing a high street presence for small independent food producers who will pay a fixed monthly fee to rent space in the shop and get to keep 100% of their sales.
READ MORE: Fringe: Brian Cox to appear as Logan Roy at Alex Salmond's show
Leroy said the launch of the new business is in response to "overwhelming demand from SDX traders and customers for a dedicated food store". She anticipates the new store will be popular with tourists as well as customers from Glasgow and further afield.
She said: “Scotland has some of the world’s finest food producers but, unless you are a big company with deep pockets, it can be hard to get your products in front of customers.
“Thousands of smaller, independent producers struggle to reach their target market, and the idea behind Foodies was born out of a desire to help them."
Foodies’ traders include Hoods Honey, an East Lothian-based company with more than 200 beehives and 13 million bees across Lothian and the Borders.
Beeswax from these hives is used to make the seal affixed to every piece of legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament since it was opened in 1999.
Stuart Hood, whose father launched the business in the 1950s, said its fortunes have been transformed since it started selling through SDX.
READ MORE: This Scottish scientist helped create the atomic bomb - but isn't in Oppenheimer
He said: “We are really excited about Foodies, which we anticipate will do for the Scottish artisan food industry what SDX has done for artists and craftspeople.
“SDX gives businesses like ours a level of exposure we could never hope to achieve on our own, because of the prohibitive costs associated with having a high street presence.
“As well as selling to home-based customers, we are also exposed to thousands of tourist customers every year, giving us an international profile.”Hood added: “Scotland has an amazing food industry, full of talented, local producers handling some of the world’s finest raw ingredients, and Foodies will help to showcase those skills and products in a way that’s never been done before.”
Other traders include Kirkintilloch-based Schoolyard, which manufactures a range of chilli-infused jellies, jams, sauces, and chocolate pretzels and Blackthorn Scottish Sea salt, located in Ayr, which produces organic sea salt flakes in a natural and sustainable way.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here