David Lawson

10 Facts About the Scottish Food & Drink Sector You May Not Know

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“If the current rate of growth continues we will have an export rate similar to that of the North Sea oil & gas industry… that is remarkable!” – Richard Lochhead, Scottish Food & Drink Secretary


As a Scottish food manufacturer, Speyside Specialities is part of an industry that is key to Scotland’s economic strength. We are proud to supply traditional Scottish food products to supermarkets around the UK and abroad – haggis, black pudding, sausages and various other traditional Scots puds. In fact Speyside Specialities is the worlds number one oatmeal based white pudding supplier!

We think it’s important to shout about our achievements as an industry, so read on for some impressive facts about the Scottish food and drink sector you might not have known:
  • 40 bottles of Scotch whiskey are shipped overseas EVERY SECOND! 

  • Haggis has been officially banned in the US since 1971! Environmental secretary Owen Paterson made a bid earlier this year to try and have the ban lifted… we are still awaiting news…
  • In the UK we eat 1 million meals made with fresh Scottish salmon EVERY DAY.
  • Annual turnover in the Scottish food and drink sector surpassed £13 billion in September 2013! This figure continues to grow year on year.
  • The traditional recipe for Scotch tablet was sugar and cream (early 18th century). Today it is made with sugar, condensed milk and butter.
  • For Scotch Whiskey to be REAL Scotch Whiskey, the spirit must mature in oak casks for at least 3 years. This MUST be done in Scotland.
  • 1 in 3 Americans believe that the haggis is a real creature that runs around in the highlands … click to read the full legend of the haggis here.
  • The USA is the top Scottish salmon importer, with 60 other countries importing Scottish salmon EVERY year.
  • Scottish beef is worth more than Scottish fruit, dairy and poultry combined!
  • France is Scottish salmon’s second biggest market, and has awarded Scottish salmon the French Government’s top quality award (Label Rouge) for the past 19 years.

There’s always more to learn, so if you know any fun facts about Scottish food & drink, please share them with us! 


How to Eat Sausages in Autumn

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September is here, which means summer is well and truly on its way out! Gone are the beach hats, sunburnt noses and sizzling barbecue sausages for another year. Autumn has arrived and with it a whole new wardrobe, a whole lot of rain and a whole new menu to go with it!

As a meat manufacturing company, we feel it is only right to keep you on the right path when it comes to cooking your meat. Way back in May, just as summer was arriving, we shared our top tips to a great British barbecue. If you’re not one for eating in season have a look, we don’t judge.
 So what are we recommending when it comes to eating sausages in autumn?
Tip 1: Autumn Stew – the warmth of summer is draining fast, and the cold nip of winter will start to edge its way into our lives throughout the autumn season. A nice warm and hearty stew will usually do the trick to stave away summer blues.
Tip 2: Slow Cooker – When cooking your autumn stew you need to do it right. We recommend a crock-pot or slow cooker. Remember to brown you sausages in a frying pan before slicing them up and adding to your pot.
Tip 3: Eat your veg in season – We mentioned earlier we’re very much for cooking in season! Slice up some autumn veg to add to your pot. Carrot, swede, parsnip, leek, pumpkin and turnip are all delicious autumn vegetables. Try a few different combinations to find out what you really like.
Tip 4: Season and serve! Once your stew is ready season it to your liking, and serve up to your friends and family. Darker autumn nights are always made lighter with laughter!

To find out more about the products we offer and where to buy them click here

Grass-Fed Over Grain-Fed!

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We’re extremely excited about the first ever fitness and nutrition SFN Expo later this month. So much so, that we have booked our very own stand in the kitchen quarter. We’ll be serving up samples of our new power food burgers to fitness and nutrition enthusiasts from all round the UK!

So what is it that makes our burgers so powerful?  For one, they are full of super food ingredients such as adzuki beans, hemp seeds and blueberries. Our power burgers are also made with lean grass fed steak! Real lean grass fed steak is in increasingly high demand and can be slightly pricier because of the rearing process, but the benefits of grass fed beef undoubtedly trump that!

So why should health conscious individuals choose grass fed over grain fed?

#Reason 1 – More Protein!
Grass is a cow’s natural diet… their stomach is designed to turn that grass into protein, which of course ups the protein in the meat content. Humans need protein to feed their muscles, and any fitness enthusiast will tell you that a protein rich diet is a must have!
#Reason 2 – Fat Fighting CLA
Grass fed beef naturally contains more CLA than its grain fed counterpart. CLA has recently been taking the fat loss & fitness market by storm. Studies have shown that regular consumption leads to fat loss and preserved muscle mass. More in depth research has also begun to suggest that CLA can help prevent cancer and chronic inflammation!
#Reason 3 – Omega 3 over Omega 6
Grass fed beef is also higher in certain essential fatty acids such as omega-3, which can help keep your cholesterol regulated, and reducing inflammation throughout your body. Grass fed beef is also lower in omega-6 than grain fed beef, which can potentially cause inflammation.
#Reason 4 – Antioxidants, Vitamins & Minerals!
Grass fed beef is packed full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, vitamin E, glutathione, zinc, iron, sodium and potassium among many more. In comparison grain fed beef naturally has many of these benefits but on a much smaller scale. If you want to really get the benefit of these minerals grass fed beef is a good choice!
#Reason5 – Support Local
Many smaller local farms rear their cows on grass, resulting in higher quality meat. Large chains tend to have high demand, and high turnover, which results in them using the cheapest and fastest way of rearing beef. If you want to support local, look to your local butcher and ask where their grass fed beef is supplied.

We source all of our ingredients locally. If you are interested in eating grass-fed beef, check out our new Power Food burger range, made with lean grass fed steak in our online shop.


Is Haggis in for a USA Revival?

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 “It was the haggis, a brownish lump sitting unobtrusively to one side of the plate, that drew the most riveting attention.” – Tom Knapp 
Since the 1971 UK foot and mouth outbreak, haggis imports have been banned in the USA resulting in millions of Americans missing out on Scotland’s most famous pud.
Unsurprisingly, this has caused a lot of distress among our American counterparts. Millions of Americans claim Scottish ancestry, and enjoy celebrating Scottish holidays.

Burns Night in particularly suffers from a lack of haggis, where the ‘great-chieftain o’ the pudding-race’ should be central to the celebrations. In fact the US has the biggest Robert Burns society in the world!
When we heard that Environmental Secretary Owen Paterson would be raising the issue with the US government in a bid to have the ban lifted as soon as possible, we couldn’t help but let out a small cheer!
Haggis is worth over £15 million to the UK economy every year, and if the American market is opened up, the possibilities are huge! Not only that, but as a haggis manufacturing company, we can only sympathise with what Americans are currently missing out on. Instead of a delicious combination of traditional Scottish oats, spices and seasoning with the finest delicate Scotch lamb meat, our friends in the US are forced to compromise!

We do hope that haggis will once again make an American debut … until then … all the more for us at home!

Find our full range of traditional Scottish puds on our online shop.

Taste of Grampian Leaves A Great Taste of Scotland!

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There is no love sincerer than the love of food – George Bernard Shaw


Speyside Specialities had a fantastic time at the Taste of Grampian food festival last month. The annual event aims to showcase the wide variety of food and drink the North-East of Scotland has to offer.



From the finest Scottish salmon and authentic shortbread, to Aberdeen angus beef and top quality scotch whiskey, we were privileged enough to showcase our traditional Scottish produce alongside the best of Grampians drink and cuisine.
Over 15,000 visitors from all over the world attended the festival –now in its 15thyear – bringing in more than £1 million to the local economy!

The sector giant that is the oil & gas industry often over shadows the northeast of Scotland. People sometimes forget the region has more than just energy to offer. The Scottish food and drink sector is worth over £13 billion to the economy with the number of exports growing year by year.
In fact, did you know that Scotland exports 36 bottles of whiskey a second? That doesn’t even include our massive fishing industry, and top quality beef, lamb and dairy. We ourselves were just recently named the worlds leading supplier in oatmeal-based whitepudding!

Check out some of the fantastic photos we’ve found from this year and last years Taste of Grampian festival. Can you spot the Speyside Specialities stand?


Weird and Wonderful Eating Trends Around the World!

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“My theory is that all of Scottish cuisine is based on a dare.” – Mike Myers

Someone once said that Scottish cuisine was based on a dare. Blood sausage, haggis, white pudding … to some, these dishes may sound a tad on the eccentric side, but to the Scots, and many others around the globe these dishes are seen as a delicious norm!
Of course, as we chatted about this at Speyside HQ, we started to think of all the weird and wonderful dishes that we ourselves had come across around the globe. Some dishes were more surprising than others!

Snake Wine, Southeast Asia 
Many Southeast Asian countries believe that snake wine has healing properties. The wine is made by either steeping a snake in the wine itself or mixing snake blood and fluid with the alcohol.
Bacon Sundae, Global
When Burger Kind decided to introduce the bacon sundae it was received with many raised eyebrows. I haven’t yet seen one in a Scottish Burger King, but it seems to have gone down well across the Atlantic. Bacon, ice cream and chocolate or caramel sauce … yum?
Fried Spiders, Cambodia
By spiders we mean BIG spiders. Enough to fill an adult stomach! They are somewhat seen as a delicacy in Cambodia with tourists said to flock to the small town of Skuon to taste this 8-legged snack!
Snails, France
The infamous French delicacy of snails seems to be more and more acceptable in the UK, with many travellers trying and loving them! They are certainly on my ‘try’ list!
Waffle taco, USA
The USA is seen as the beacon of junk food, and Taco Bell is no exception! The latest meal on their breakfast menu is a burger like sausage and scrambled eggs wrapped in a waffle taco. Mind your arteries!
Squirming Octopus, Korea
Also known as Sannakji, the octopus is cut into small pieces and served while the tentacles are still moving! … Although an avid seafood lover, I’m not sure how I feel about this one!
Fried bull testicles, USA
Also known as Rocky Mountain Oysters, this dish is said to be popular with the cowboys of the West, and of course, being deep fried makes this dish all the more American!
So there you have it, some of the, what we would call ‘different’ food choices around the globe. Putting it into perspective it shows that food culture varies tremendously around the world, and people make the most of what they have to hand. In traditional Scotland, that would be oats and meat – and boy have we made the most of those!