BRC accreditation and new look for Scott’s Onions
Scott’s Crispy Onions, a Food NI member, has achieved BRC accreditation and refreshed its branding to grow sales in the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain.
Based near Coleraine in Co Londonderry, Scott’s has become the leading supplier of convenient crispy onions to retailers and caterers on the island of Ireland and is keen to develop new opportunities identified in Great Britain.
Managing director Richard Scott says the rebrand has given its product range of ready to eat crispy onions “a bolder, fresher and eye catching presence on the shelves of supermarkets, independent grocers, delis and butchery businesses in existing markets and to assist us in the GB marketplace in particular. It gives our products a wow factor which should attract shoppers”.
“Achieving BRC accreditation for all our systems, processes and products is an immensely important stage in our development and will enhance our efforts to grow business with major retailers in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
“The Republic has grown to 40 percent of our sales since the launch of Scott’s Onions as a standalone company in 2013,” he adds.
The new branding, designed by Belfast consultancy Part II, which provides expert brand creation and marketing services to food business throughout the UK and Ireland, represents an £80,000 investment and covers all aspects of the small business, including corporate information, website and vehicle livery.
The company has four flavours of crispy onions – Original, Steak, Smokey Bacon and Sweet Chilli – in 90g retail packs and 1.6kg tubs for caterers. The crispy onions developed from the wholesale fruit and vegetable business started by Sydney B Scott, Richard’s father, in 1955.
Scott’s Crispy Onions is the brainchild of Richard and his team. They realised the growing popularity of tobacco onions in Northern Ireland hotels and restaurants and decided to develop a product that was more convenient for chefs and home cooks than having to fry onions.
Five years on and working from a new purpose-built factory with 16 people, Scott’s Crispy Onions has expanded to four flavours of ready to eat onions. The company’s clients in Northern Ireland include all the main retail and foodservice distributors and are available in most, good convenience stores and butchers across the country.
The innovative products are increasingly winning significant business in the Republic.
Scott’s Crispy Onions are now sold in the Republic of Ireland in SuperValu, Centra, (both under own brand), Spar and shortly in Tesco Ireland outlets. In addition, the company has its own representatives in Dublin and Tipperary who most butchers throughout the country.
