Members of the Mackie family (L-R) Angus Hayhow, Karin Hayhow, Kirstin Mackie, Mac Mackie (Credit: Mackie's of Scotland)

Scottish ice cream maker scales up after gaining 300,000 new customers

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A Scottish ice cream maker is producing the equivalent of one million scoops a day as it expands its customer base across the UK.

Mackie’s of Scotland is making around 75,000 litres of ice cream every day at its Aberdeenshire farm. The family business has gained more than 300,000 new customers since summer 2025, with its tubs now stocked in Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda stores nationwide.

To support its growth, Mackie’s has increased storage and dispatch capacity at its Kintore site, backed by a £1.5 million funding package from Bank of Scotland. Tte added space gives the team more room under its direct control to handle bigger volumes, react faster to demand surges, and support jobs and skills as the business grows.

The expansion follows Mackie’s highest-ever annual turnover of £24.8 million, up 11% year on year, alongside a 3% rise in profits.

Mackie’s is now purchased by more than a quarter of households in Scotland but it’s not just Scotland tucking in. Since summer 2025, Mackie’s has tempted more than 300,000 new customers as the brand has popped up in more and more supermarket freezers in the UK, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s Morrisons and Asda.

Made at Mackie’s 1,600-acre family farm at Westertown in Aberdeenshire, fans can choose from a full line-up of flavours, including classics like traditional vanilla, honeycomb and chocolate, alongside fruitier picks such as raspberry ripple. And it’s not just one flavour doing the heavy lifting either, with Mackie’s saying more people are working their way through the range, from tried-and-true classics to newer additions.

All that momentum is showing up at the tills too. Mackie’s recently reported its highest-ever turnover of £24.8m (up 11% year-on-year) alongside a 3% rise in profits for the financial year ending May 2025.

Stuart Common, Managing Director of Mackie’s of Scotland, said: “It’s been brilliant to see Mackie’s finding new fans right across the UK, with more shoppers picking us up in supermarkets than ever before.

“As we grow, we want to make sure customers can get Mackie’s when they’re looking for it – especially during the busiest weeks of summer.

“This finance package supports the next phase of our growth, helping us scale up while staying true to our green values and producing and distributing as sustainably as we can from Aberdeenshire.”

Grant McBay, Relationship Director at Bank of Scotland, said: “Mackie’s is a brilliant example of a homegrown Scottish brand winning new fans across the UK, and it’s impressive to see the business producing at this scale to keep up with demand.

“Our funding is helping Mackie’s strengthen its storage and distribution capacity, giving the team more headroom to manage higher volumes, keep product flowing to customers and support jobs and growth in the North East as the business continues to expand.”

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