Business: Success For Taste Of Arran

Although Taste of Arran can count several award wining companies and the 2007 Distiller of the Year amongst its members, it’s the collaborative marketing which saw it pick up a highly coveted prize at the Scottish Food and Drink Excellence Awards, in the Direct Marketing Category.

“Part of our strategy has focused on developing established links which consumers already have with the Isle of Arran,” says Taste of Arran MD, Alastair Dobson. “We know that consumers develop a real and significant emotional connection with the island. We enable consumers to take a taste of Arran home with them when they visit, or more importantly, to buy a slice of island life when they are at home – whether this is via their local specialist food retailer, or online at www.taste-of-arran.co.uk .”

With a wide range of hand crafted food and drink, all produced on the tiny Clyde Island, this strategy of collective marketing is not only brave, but also proving to be extremely successful. Arran products range from soft and blue cheeses, subtly flavoured mini oatcakes, mustards, chocolates, and traditional dairy ice creams, to a fine ten year old malt whisky and a range of real ales.

So what links this eclectic range of products, other than the island of origin? “Quality” is the emphatic reply from Gordon Kinniburgh, award winning cheese maker and Taste of Arran member.“All of our companies are totally committed to the highest quality standards – as a group we were instrumental in shaping the new Safe & Local Supplier Approved (SALSA) scheme, and supplying the highest quality product is the top priority for all of us.” Mr Kinniburgh’s company, Island Cheese Co, was in fact the first food manufacturer in the UK to gain a SALSA accreditation, and participation in the scheme is now prerequisite for Taste of Arran companies.