A GRAMPIAN rapeseed oil producer is looking forward to driving sales at home and abroad after winning three major supply deals.
Up-and-coming Mackintosh of Glendaveny is preparing to export for the first time after linking up with a Dubai-based food wholesaler, which will distribute its cold-pressed oils in the emirate and throughout the Middle East.
The Scottish company will supply Just Food International with 10,500 litres of product after striking a deal at the Gulf Food Show, where the oil producer was exhibiting at the pavilion taken by Scottish Development International (SDI).
The deal came as Mackintosh took big strides to boost its presence in multiple grocers at home.
It has built on its distribution in 43 Asda stores, where five of its six oils are listed, by securing deals to supply 20 Sainsbury's stores in Scotland, and extending its presence in Tesco, from 64 to 118 outlets north of the Border.
The hat-trick of deals underlines the rapid growth the company has enjoyed since being established by 25-year-old Gregor Mackintosh just four years ago.
Mr Mackintosh developed the business as a student at the Scottish Agricultural College in Aberdeen, where he was asked to write a dissertation on an agricultural-based topic.
He recalled: "It was just at the time where cold-pressed rapeseed oil was coming into the UK, so it was an ideal topic at the time, really.
"The rapeseed was already being grown on my father's farm and there was no reason why I couldn't start producing it and getting it into the Scottish market.
"Before the end of my time at college I basically had the whole business just about ready to go. My father wasn't overly keen on the idea at all – he was more concerned about losing his main tractor driver!"
A start-up grant was received from the Prince's Trust, then the Scottish Youth Business Trust, which allowed Mr Mackintosh to set up a temporary production unit at the farm.
Since then the proceeds from sales have steadily been reinvested in the business, which now operates the biggest production plant of its kind in Scotland following a £250,000 expansion last year.
After the rise in production capacity, Mr Mackintosh said the firm is equipped to meet the demands of the big supermarkets, and bring prices down.
While a bottle of rapeseed oil was around £6 or £7 when it first appeared in delicatessens, Mackintosh of Glendaveny is selling it for around £4.95 per 500ml bottle.
Mr Mackintosh said: "A lot of the other producers have been quite sceptical [about supplying supermarkets] and have just kept to farmers' markets and smaller shops.
"But there was a huge opportunity to get this product on the supermarket shelves. Timing was crucial. I knew this product was going to be huge – I just needed to get the funding in place and took it from there on."
Mr Mackintosh noted that rapeseed oil is the fastest-growing product in the oil category, enjoying growth nine times the rate of olive oil. He puts its attraction down to its health properties, including its Omega 3 content and low level of saturated fat, versatility and the fact it is Scottish.
Mackintosh currently offers a range of six oils and an oatcake brand made with rapeseed oil.
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