Local bakery firm Murdoch Allan has taken the decision to grow its business with a rather left-field foray into the butchery market.
The move, says the Peterhead-based company, forms part of its commitment to improving access to “local, affordable and high-quality” produce.
Murdoch Allan plans to sell “award-winning” Aberdeen Angus beef bred at the family’s farm in Hatton, along with other locally sourced meats and vegetables, as well as what it is calling “restaurant-quality” pre-prepared meals.
Located in Peterhead, the shop opened on 16 September and has helped create six additional jobs in the local community.
The shop will offer customers a “carefully selected” range of locally sourced meats, including premium cuts from Murdoch Allan’s own Aberdeen Angus cattle, ensuring a very direct farm-to-table chain.
Murdoch Allan managing director Paul Allan said: “When the opportunity came up to bring the butcher shop into the Murdoch Allan family of businesses, we saw it as a natural next step in our farming journey.
“As cattle farmers ourselves, we know the importance of quality, consistency, and taking pride in the products we make. The addition of the butcher shop not only allows us to expand our range of quality butchery, bakery and grocery products, but it also gives us even greater control over the quality of meats that we use in our pies in the bakery.”
He added: “Innovation has always been a big part of how we’ve grown, and this expansion allows us to continue evolving while keeping our customers and the quality of our products at the centre of everything we do.”
The baker-cum-butcher says the opening marks an “exciting milestone” as it looks to build on its six physical bakery shops currently operating across north-east Scotland.
Murdoch Allan also supplies most of Scotland’s leading supermarkets, as well as hundreds of independent retailers across the region.
The company employs more than 180 people and is well known locally for supplying its Aberdeen Pies to Pittodrie, the home ground of Aberdeen FC in the Scottish Premiership.
