There will soon be a new Scottish name in crisps and popcorn as Perthshire firm Mackie’s rebrands to Taylors Snacks.
But behind the venture is a familiar family name from Perthshire.
The Taylors, who have farmed in the Errol area for around 100 years, were an integral part of the previous operation.
The brand name is currently changing, following the Taylors’ buy-out of its partner, the Mackie family from Aberdeenshire.
The Taylors have now taken total control of the business, which employs around 150 staff in Errol and Yorkshire.
The re-branded Taylors Snacks products will be available in stores towards the end of this spring.
‘This is the dawn of a new era’
Managing director James Taylor said: “This is the dawn of a new era for us as a brand and business. We’re very much the same great product – just with a new family name.
“We’re proud to have built strong retail links with a great range of crisps and popcorn products, listed with the majority of the multiples.”
Taylors Snacks feels it now has a major opportunity to expand distribution and drive its product range across the rest of the UK.
James said: “We’ve got a passionate and dedicated sales team, adding a few new members very recently. We’d love to grow our national retailer listings and presence in convenience retail – we’re confident there’s lots more we can do there as Taylors.”
The family says it has extra capacity to play with – in both its crisps and popcorn factories.
James added: “With the new brand launch, we can look at marrying innovation with our health-focused product lines.”
Taylors is also keen to develop its longer-term sustainability plans, ensuring this plays a critical role in every aspect of the business over the next five years.
But the cost-of-living crisis is having an impact, as the company is having to weather increases in raw material, labour and energy costs.
James went on: “We’re managing to get through though, and are overcoming the raw material challenges. We’re hopeful there’s a sign of things easing, but are watching the overall impact on volume very closely.”
History of Perthshire crisps business
It was back in the 1980s when James’s father, George, diversified into potato washing and packing with the creation of the Taypack business.
George then made a further move into the creation of a value-added product – crisps – in 2009.
Around the same time, Mackie’s was going to market with crisps – so Taypack entered a partnership marrying the Mackie’s brand with the Taylors’ crisps, bringing Mackie’s Crisps to market.
The range has grown and expanded since then, with popcorn being added in 2015 and healthy snacks (lentil waves) in 2019.
Saving 60 jobs through acquisition
Last September, the Scottish firm rescued one of the UK’s largest independent own-label popcorn manufacturers from administration in a pre-pack deal, saving the jobs of 60.
The venture purchased the business and assets of Sheffield-based South Yorkshire Foods.
The move allowed it to bring popcorn production in-house.
South Yorkshire Foods was producing 12 tonnes of popcorn per day at its factory to supply a host of supermarket and wholesale customers, including the likes of Asda, Iceland and B&M.
But the business filed for administration after struggling in the aftermath of Brexit and the pandemic and, latterly, with soaring input cost inflation and energy bills.
James said at the time of the acquisition that the addition of the popcorn-manufacturing business made for “a really exciting time” to be at Taylors.
“South Yorkshire Foods produces a high-quality product packed with flavour – something we pride ourselves on at Taylors Snacks,” he added.
“The new-business move will not only add an array of dedicated, talented staff, it will also add to our ever-extending range of products. It made sense right away.”
Conversation