AN Ayrshire-based egg producer has become the first in Scotland to win
accreditation under the RSPCA's Freedom Food scheme. Scotlay Farm Eggs
of Riverside Farm near Alloway specialises in free-range eggs, which
command a premium price.
Former Scottish rugby internationalist Quintin Dunlop heads the
Scotlay operation which, in the wake of the Edwina Currie salmonella
scare, had to undergo a virtual re-launch as its traditional market
evaporated.
Aware of growing concerns about animal welfare, the company has
concentrated its efforts on a free-range system which, to retain the
RSPCA recognition, has to guarantee the hens freedom from fear,
distress, pain, injury and disease. They must be kept well fed and
watered, comfortable and given freedom to behave normally.
Scotlay used to be a supplier to Homestead Eggs. It was a simple
business, Mr Dunlop recalled. He produced the eggs and a lorry made
regular calls to collect them. The rest was up to Homestead, which was a
major distributor.
After the Edwina Currie scare Homestead became part of a distribution
set-up based in Fife, leaving Scotlay, on the other side of the country,
feeling somewhat vulnerable.
It was at this point that Mr Dunlop decided he to go after his own
local market. Today he has 6000 birds in production with their eggs
destined for a wide variety of local outlets including corner shops,
butchers, guest houses, nursing homes and hotels. The prestigious
Turnberry Hotel is also among his customers.
One of the main outlets for Scotlay is a home delivery service which
brings day-old free-range eggs straight to the doorstep through a
network of 50 teenage agents covering households in Ayr, Prestwick and
Troon. That service -- which comes at a discount compared to supermarket
prices -- is about to be extended to Kilmarnock and East Kilbride.
The best of these young agents earned #1000 last year including
bonuses and tips. The whole operation is carefully planned with a
leaflet drop, followed up by a house call. Training evenings are held in
a local hotel so that the agents are groomed for their task before they
hit the streets.
''We have worked very hard to get to this position,'' said Mr Dunlop.
''It has been very exciting. We knew there was a market out there, the
question was how to get to it.''
With the help of an assistant, Tracy Hardy, who graduated last year
from Glasgow's Caledonian University in consumer and management studies,
he has adopted a professional approach to marketing. The polystyrene
packs come in a colourful sleeve featuring the cross of St Andrew. At
the recent Kyle and Carrick trade fair the Scotlay stand, which they
devised themselves, was judged to be the best on show.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article