Aberdeenshire food producer Castleton Farm has been announced as a finalist in the Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards.
The shortlisting is in the Best for Scottish (Independent Business) category, and rewards businesses who place Scottish sourcing at the heart of their consumer experience and proudly promote Scottish provenance.
Co-owner Anna Mitchell said: “This is brilliant news and we’re thrilled to have been shortlisted in a category that means so much to us.
“We celebrate our Scottish sourcing, clearly marking it both on menus and throughout the farm shop. Our website and social channels proudly tell the history and explain the provenance of what we make and our on-site experiential tours and external events trumpet the tradition and quality of Scottish food.
“All the best to our fellow finalists, Amity Fish Company, Bonnie & Wild and Fisher & Donaldson and here’s to a great night at the awards when we get to celebrate exceptional food and drink businesses across the country.”
The award will be presented to the company who has a clear strategy for growth, understands their customers, has a passion for Scottish provenance and is able to reflect that a successful business recognises the value of strong relationships with their suppliers.
Background
Castleton Farm is a successful family-run business growing and supplying soft fruit, manufacturing food products and running a café and farm shop.
Despite packing more than 9million punnets of premium quality strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and cherries last year, it’s about more than just fruit.
Its strawberry tart jelly is legendary in the region and they make their own branded jams and preserves, ranging from traditional strawberry jam to blueberry, port and orange chutney. As well as fruit vinegars, they’ve started producing hemp oil from a trial crop on the farm and have just launched a hemp oil mayonnaise.
Café menus feature classic Scottish dishes like Cullen Skink and Balmoral panini, clearly marking the local butchers, bakers and fishmongers where possible, as well as their own products. These sit alongside the almost exclusively regional produce in the farm shop.
Awards
Iain Baxter, chief executive of Scotland Food & Drink, expressed his admiration for the finalists, stating: “The Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards celebrate Scotland’s outstanding products and the remarkable businesses behind them.
“Whether a brand new start-up or an established industry leader, these awards are a testament to the hard work and passion that drives our sector forward. Congratulations to everyone who has been shortlisted—we look forward to sharing a night of celebration and some of Scotland’s finest produce.”
For over two decades, these prestigious awards have brought together Scotland’s top producers with key industry decision-makers and influencers to celebrate the continued success of Scotland as a world-class food and drink destination.
The judging panel included buyers from some of the UK’s largest retailers such as Asda, Sainsbury, Co-op and Scotmid Co-op, alongside influential figures from the food and drink industry.
The Excellence Awards not only honour past achievements but also look to the future, supporting the next wave of innovation and creativity in Scotland’s food and drink industry.
From independent butchers to craft distillers and sustainable dairy producers, this year’s finalists embody the qualities that make Scotland a leader in the global food and drink market.
The winner will be revealed at the 23rd Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards, held in Glasgow at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel on 9 October and hosted by Simon Rimmer.
