WITH farmers’ markets taking place somewhere every week, food and drink events attracting visitors in their thousands and many chefs achieving celebrity status, it’s clear that consumer appetite for Scotland’s abundant larder is growing.

The fact that food and drink is now the biggest sector of the Scottish economy also suggests that the industry is booming. Just this week, figures were released which showed that Scotland’s food and drink exports have grown by more than 10 per cent in a year.

So what is driving this golden age for Scottish food and drink - an industry with an annual turnover of £14.4 billion and ambition to double that turnover to £30bn by 2030? Robert Graham, managing director of Bridge of Allan-based Graham’s The Family Dairy, speaking to the Sunday Herald from the Royal Highland Show which finishes today, suggests that because food is something that people can really connect with they’re hungry to know more about it.

“People increasingly want to know where their food comes from,” he said. “In Scotland, there’s tremendous support for the food and drink industry but we’re also very good at storytelling and people buy into that, I think. At Graham’s, we place a lot emphasis on the fact we’re a family business – our name is on our products and that seems to strike a chord with consumers who see us a brand they can trust.”

Graham’s, which won the dairy category at the recent Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards for its Gold Smooth product – using milk with cream mixed through, from its own herd of Jersey cows – is now Scotland’s number one dairy brand, according to market researchers Kantar WorldPanel. It supplies supermarkets all over the UK as well as local shops and restaurants.

In 2015, the firm acquired a dairy in Fife to allow it to expand into production of cottage cheese and quark – a fresh soft cheese product with a mild flavour that is fat free and can be used in both sweet or savoury dishes. “This has helped us respond to consumer demand for healthier products that are less processed and natural,” said Graham.

Engaging with consumers is also important, he believes. “There’s definitely a growing trend for local, Scottish produce - but you have to keep people interested and show them what they can do with your products,” he pointed out. Graham’s works with a range of well-known chefs and bakers, including Flora Shedden, a former winner of The Great British Bake Off and Nick Nairn, to provide recipes people can try out in their own kitchens.

Karin Hayhow, marketing director of ice-cream maker Mackie’s, agrees that the trend for seeking out local foods with a compelling story allows smaller brands and companies to get their slice of the cake. “We’re no longer a small brand but we still have to work hard and do everything we can to encourage people to try our products,” she said.

“That’s why big events like the Royal Highland Show are so important to us – it’s a great testing ground for new products and we can also remind people of our provenance and that we make our ice cream in Scotland on the family farm with milk from our own cows. These are the things people are interested in, the things that help customers choose your brand over another.”

Meanwhile, Mackie’s first ice-cream parlour will open in Aberdeen later this year. Named Mackie’s 19.2 – as it sits exactly 19.2 miles from the Westertown Farm where the family first started making ice cream – will sell ice cream, of course, but also crepes, waffles and a new range of luxury chocolates being showcased for the first time at this year’s Royal Highland Show.

At Broughton Ales near Biggar, director David McGowan puts the renaissance of Scottish food and drink down to a number of reasons. “Consumers are a lot more discerning now and they want to know what’s in a product as well as who’s made it and where it’s made,” he said. “Food events and beer festivals are also playing their part – there are two or three a week now and that’s great for the industry.

“Producers – and our customers – are proud of what they’re doing and by tapping into the tourism industry we’re also helping spread the word,” McGowan continued. “I speak to hoteliers in remote parts of Scotland who tell me that people are asking for a Scottish beer – they don’t want a multinational brand they can get anywhere in the world. They’re looking for a real taste of Scotland.”

There are hurdles to cross, however, and McGowan points to the raft of legislation that surrounds the sale of alcohol as something that can be cumbersome to navigate although much of it is there “for very good reasons”. The craft beer market is also becoming increasingly competitive. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing though because it makes you up your game.”

For Anja Baak and her husband Jan, who are originally from the Netherlands and set up Great Glen Charcuterie near the village of Roy Bridge in the Highlands 10 years ago, it’s all about provenance and taste. She points out that while local produce can sometimes be more expensive, people don’t mind because they like the story behind it.

“People are eating out more and when you have visitors coming into restaurants or going into farm shops you need to make sure you tell that story,” she said. “With charcuterie, there are more people doing it now in Scotland than when we started so it’s important for us to differentiate and do something that resonates with customers.

“With us, our point of difference is that we use only wild Scottish venison in our products which are produced by hand and air-dried to preserve the flavour. As well as selling our brand in farm shops, food halls and delis across the UK, there are also many restaurants with our charcuterie on their menus now.”

In Perth and Kinross, piemaker Robert Corrigan of Mr C’s Hand-Crafted Pies was recently awarded over £26,000 in funding from the Food Processing, Marketing and Co-operation grant scheme. “Each pie is handmade using organic flour, Italian lard to create melt-in-the-mouth pastry, traditional stock jelly, and the best quality meat,” he said.

“The grant has allowed us to purchase new equipment and move into producing smaller 120g pies,” Corrigan continued. “Without this we would be unable to substantially grow the business as the smaller range of pies cannot be made manually – this type of equipment will enable us to target new markets and expand within our existing markets. It also means we can take on more staff.”

Like many other small producers in Scotland, Mr C’s likes to shout about its point of difference. “Let’s face it, there are a lot of pies out there but we only bake to order which means our pies are as fresh as they can possibly be when they reach the customer, whether that’s Fortnum & Mason in London, Gleneagles Hotel or a farm shop,” said Corrigan, who revealed that he will soon be supplying the Caledonian Sleeper.

Dumfries and Galloway-based Sheena Horner, owner of preserves company Galloway Chillies, agrees. “If we didn’t love what we do we wouldn’t do it,” she said. “It’s hard work and when I leave the Royal Highland Show tonight I’ve got to head down to Harrogate for the Fine Food Show there tomorrow. It’s definitely a labour of love.”

Horner, who makes her products in her kitchen, also alludes to the importance of provenance. “We’re a nation of storytellers in Scotland and we’re proud of our heritage so it makes sense for producers – whatever size of business they have – to build a bit of that into their marketing,” she said.

While Horner has used fresh chillies grown in Britain, she will soon be in a position to claim that all the chillies used in her preserves are grown in Scotland. “I’m growing them in Ayrshire and from October I’ll be starting to use them – this is a major milestone for my business,” she said.

It’s not all plain sailing for Scotland’s food producers, however. Graham’s wants to expand and build a new £20 million dairy but has encountered local planning issues. Mackie’s, while it has a loyal core group of staff who have been with the company for many years, sometimes struggles to recruit for specialist roles due its rural location.

Nick Hudson, communications director at industry body Scotland Food & Drink, said: “We have a great industry with high levels of innovation and people coming up with terrific ideas – there’s a lot of energy and collaboration in our sector and that is a fundamental strength of the Scottish brand.

“Seventy per cent of the industry’s turnover in Scotland comes from 24 companies but what we also have is a group of very active smaller companies that are agile and willing to try new things.

“Sometimes they don’t have the capacity to be able to fulfil big orders with supermarkets, for example, and that can stifle their growth ambitions but we have big retailers who are very keen to do business with smaller producers because they like their products and are trying to find ways around some of the challenges.”

Fact panel

Scottish food and drink turnover is £14.4 billion per year with the ambition to double turnover to £30bn by 2030

There are 900 food and drink manufacturers in Scotland

The birth rate for new food and drink businesses in Scotland has grown 86 per cent in seven years, faster than the rest of the UK and with a higher survival rate

In the first three months of 2017, food and drink worth £1.2bn was exported, an increase of £124m on 2016