Butchers are still enjoying strong demand from customers in the wake of the horsemeat scandal.
Some are reporting sales of burgers and sausages are up by 30% as shoppers continue to shun supermarket products over doubts about the reliability of their meat supplies.
Alan Pirie, of James Pirie & Son in Newtyle, Angus, is one of those to benefit.
He said: “We have been selling a tremendous amount of burgers and also sausages, chicken and steak mince. They have been flying out the door ever since this carry on with the horsemeat in the supermarkets.”
The rise in sales has not come solely from existing customers but also from new ones.
Mr Pirie said: “We have had a lot of people come in for the first time and they have said they are not going back to the supermarkets. It’s been very good for business.
“It’s local produce that’s what people are looking for. We have got full traceability all the way back to the farm.”
Pirie’s has been offering some new products, such as pork and Dundee marmalade sausages, in an attempt to turn its extra customers into loyal ones.
However, the long-term impact of the horsemeat scandal remains unknown.
Mr Pirie said he hoped this would be a chance for butchers to fight back against supermarket competition, but he added: “We don’t know how long this is going to last. People have short memories.”
Scott Jarron, of Scott Brothers in Dundee, said: “Sales are up right across the board. If I had to pick out products it would be burgers and sausages because these are the ones that people perhaps used to pick up at the supermarket.”
He reckoned the continuing increase in customers was down to people who previously shopped in a butcher’s on special occasions but were now coming in more often.
“We are delighted with where we are,” he said.
A recent poll for consumer group Which? found that shoppers’ trust in supermarkets has fallen by 24% since the horsemeat scandal began in January.
Some 30% of those questioned said they were buying less processed meat, with 24% buying fewer ready meals containing meat, or switching to vegetarian options.