Deluxe Scottish shortbread will be hitting the stores

A new shortbread deal worth £150,000 with a major supermarket has boosted a Scottish business.

Lidl UK has launched a new Scottish shortbread, in partnership with Aberdeenshire family business Duncan’s of Deeside.

The Deluxe all butter shortbread fingers, which are now available exclusively across Lidl’s 95 Scottish stores for just 99p per packet, is the first own-brand collaboration between the grocer and baker.

The businesses have been working over the last six months to perfect the flavour, texture and shape for their first collaboration. Hand baked to perfection, the melt in the mouth, light and crumbly shortbread is baked in a traditional ‘tray bake style’ of eight fingers, which can be broken off and enjoyed one by one.

Lidl’s head of regional buying for Scotland, Paul McQuade said: ‘At Lidl, we are firmly committed to supporting and championing local producers, and are incredibly proud of our Deluxe Scottish Selection product range.

‘We were keen to add a new Scottish shortbread to the Deluxe range, and Duncan’s of Deeside proved to be the perfect partner.

Paul Duncan, director of Duncan’s of Deeside who are supplying shortbread to Lidl, with
supervisor Monika Sarvacjz and production manager Szilvia Szabo

‘We believe we have created the perfect combination of light, sweet, crumbly and truly moreish shortbread, at excellent value for our customers.’

Based in the heart of the Aberdeenshire countryside, third generation bakers Duncan’s of Deeside have grown significantly in the last five years with father and son team at the reigns, and currently employ a team of 28 craft bakers.

Paul Duncan, managing director of Duncan’s of Deeside, said: ‘We have been in business for over 30 years and our move to our new bakery in Laurencekirk, means we are able to reach a much wider market in the UK and overseas.

‘Yet, we have still retained that personal touch that we’ve had from day one. My father and I are very much part of daily life in the bakery.

‘We are delighted to develop this delicious new product as our first UK supermarket branded product, creating an outstanding shortbread with a unique flavour and texture profile.

‘We attended the Lidl Meet the Buyer event in September 2017 and gained valuable insight into the supermarket’s product range and focus on quality, which in turn helped us develop a perfect product.

‘The security and certainty provided by our partnership with Lidl has enabled us to invest in and substantially grow our business by purchasing new equipment and increasing our supplier orders.’