AWARD-winning Aberdeenshire baker, Murdoch Allan, has doubled the turnover of its Peterhead shop in the last 12 months since making the decision to relocate and close its café.
Just one year on from moving its bakery outlet less than 50 metres from Broad Street to Chapel Street, Murdoch Allan has seen revenues increase by 100%.
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The company, which has also launched a new look and feel for its brand of baked and sweet treats, has seen footfall to its bakery in the town rise by more than 3000 customers every month. These customers are buying more than 1500 Aberdeen Butteries a week, 450 yum yums and at least 1000 Aberdeen Pies every week.
The Hatton-based bakery has been on a growth drive in recent months and has seen overall turnover increase by 20% in the last year which has allowed it to also expand its workforce from 145 to 160 people.
Paul Allan, Managing Director of Murdoch Allan, said: “Peterhead is such an important part of our heritage, that closing the café and moving the bakery wasn’t a decision that we made lightly. The new premises has been completely refitted with state-of-the-art facilities and a modern experience for our customers and staff alike. The response from our customers has been fantastic and everyone at the Chapel Street shop is delighted to see more and more people coming through our doors.”
Murdoch Allan, which also has outlets in Hatton, Mintlaw, Fraserburgh, Turriff and Aberdeen (Thains), supplies most of Scotland’s supermarkets including Asda, Morrisons, Lidl, Aldi, Sainsbury’s stores in Aberdeenshire, and Co-Op local stores. They supply these chains with their sought-after Aberdeen butteries, morning rolls, tattie scones, and a variety of sweet treats.
The growth of the Peterhead bakery is part of a concerted expansion of the Murdoch Allan business. In the last year, they have won new agreements to expand their product listings in all 57 Asda stores across Scotland. The bakery already supplied the supermarket chain with Aberdeen butteries and morning rolls, but the latest deal sees the addition of 11 more bakery lines including tattie scones, strawberry tarts, and all-butter shortbread rounds. As well as this, Murdoch Allan has created an online store where people can buy their Aberdeen Butteries directly.
Murdoch Allan also supplies its famous Aberdeen Pie to football fans at Aberdeen Football Club’s Pittodrie Stadium. The company won steak pie of the year at the 2022 World Scotch Pie Championship and, at the same event in 2023, their Pittodrie pie took home prizes.
Paul and Katrina have also recently launched their own premium vodka and gin brand, Still Spirited. Their single malt vodka and gin are produced within the Murdoch Allan bakery headquarters in Hatton. Although only launched recently, Still Spirited has already received positive reviews from those who have tried it. The product is currently stocked in independent retailers and bars in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. The couple are also currently in talks with a major supermarket about supplying them with the new product.
Paul added: “Between Murdoch Allan and Still Spirited, it’s an extremely busy but exciting time for the company. We plan to strengthen our partnerships with local independent retailers and national supermarkets, while also focusing on the continued success of our stores. I’m looking forward to continuing to grow both businesses and creating even more job opportunities.”
To find out more about Murdoch Allan visit, murdochallan.co.uk
