Scottish Bakers

16/10/2026

🌟 Allied Trade Member Spotlight: Zeelandia 🌟

At Scottish Bakers, we know that the industry is constantly innovating and expanding, and you need your suppliers to keep up with the fast-paced environment. That’s why we are proud to shine a spotlight on our Allied Trade Member, Zeelandia!

With over 125 years of global heritage and 75 years proudly serving the UK, Zeelandia has been a cornerstone of the professional baking industry. They aren't just ingredient suppliers, they are a total solutions provider dedicated to supporting both craft and industrial bakeries with high-quality products and bespoke technical expertise.

Zeelandia can support our members with:

🌾 Premium Ingredient Range: From specialist bread mixes, sourdoughs, and world-renowned release agents (like CARLO and CARLEX) to premium, UK-made sweet fillings including jams, curds, caramels, and mincemeat.

🤝 Tailored Technical Expertise: With dedicated UK technical centres in Colchester and Wigan, their expert team provides hands-on product advice, bespoke recipe development, and tailor-made solutions to fit your exact manufacturing needs.

💡 Inventive Bakery Solutions: Need fresh inspiration or ways to optimise production? Zeelandia offers the latest market insights and inventive ideas to help you discover new opportunities and keep your product range exciting.

🏆 Uncompromising Standards: Operating from BRC AA-accredited manufacturing sites, they guarantee exceptional food safety and quality standards, all while driving forward ambitious sustainability initiatives for the future of baking.

With over a century of baking history and deep local roots, Zeelandia understands the challenges and opportunities our members face. They provide the perfect blend of inventive thinking and technical know-how to help your bakery thrive.

Discover their full range and see how their expertise can support your business today:
🔗 https://www.zeelandia.co.uk/

15/10/2026

🥹 Wishing Stephen and Rona a very happy retirement! They should be rightly proud of all their achievements, including winning both the World Scotch Pie Champion and Scottish Baker of the Year titles in 2016. Congratulations to new owners Craig and Lesley McPhie. Wishing you the very best with your new exciting venture!

❤️ A NEW CHAPTER BEGINS – THE KANDY BAR ❤️

Today, we are delighted to announce the sale of The Kandy Bar, our bakery, four shops and café, with the official handover taking place on Thursday 22nd October.
The business will be handed over to Craig McPhie and his wife, Lesley and we wish them every success as they begin this exciting new chapter.
The business was marketed for sale in February this year, and we were overwhelmed by the level of interest. By the closing date, we had received six amazing offers.
Although we had several strong offers to consider, we did not simply choose the highest offer. We chose the offer that we felt was the right fit for The Kandy Bar.
Craig comes from a family bakery business and brings with him a wealth of knowledge, experience and understanding of the bakery industry. We feel confident that he and Lesley appreciate the hard work, dedication and passion that go into running a business like ours, along with the importance of our fantastic team and loyal customers. This gave us real confidence that we were handing over the business to the right people to take it forward into the future.

THE STORY BEHIND THE KANDY BAR ❤️ (the short version)
The Kandy Bar began its journey as a small sweet shop in Hamilton Street, Saltcoats, started by Stephen’s Mum, Jean McAllister, with the help of his Gran Sarah. Stephen’s Dad, John McAllister, who was a baker, then introduced bakery products, and from those humble beginnings, the business grew into what it is today.
We are so thankful to have been able to carry forward the legacy that Jean, John and Gran started and to build upon the foundations they created with so much hard work and dedication.
What began as a small family sweet shop has grown into a highly successful bakery business, with four shops and a café, employing 90 people and earning a reputation within the bakery industry as one of the best.
We are incredibly proud of how far the business has come. We hope Jean, John and Gran would be proud to see what their original little shop has become. Their legacy will always be at the heart of The Kandy Bar, and we feel privileged to have played our part in its story.

AN EMOTIONAL TIME FOR EVERYONE ❤️
This is an incredibly emotional time for everyone concerned. The Kandy Bar is so much more than buildings, shops and a bakery. It represents generations of family history, years of hard work, friendships, memories and the dedication of so many wonderful people.
There are naturally mixed emotions as we prepare to hand over something that has been such a huge part of our lives. We know this change will mean a great deal to our staff, customers, suppliers, tradespeople, family and everyone who has been connected to the business over the years.
One of the most important things for us to share is that all 90 jobs are safe and protected. Our team has always been at the heart of everything we do, and we are delighted that they can continue doing what they do best under the new ownership.
To our wonderful staff, loyal customers, suppliers, friends, tradespeople and family, we want to say a heartfelt THANK YOU. Your support, loyalty and encouragement have meant more to us than words can express. Every single person who has been part of this journey has helped make The Kandy Bar what it is today.

As we approach this next chapter, we do so with immense pride, gratitude and, of course, a few tears. We are proud of what we have achieved, proud of the reputation we have built and, above all, proud of the people who have helped us along the way.
We wish Craig and Lesley every success as they take The Kandy Bar forward, and we hope they enjoy building upon the wonderful legacy that began with Jean, John and Gran all those years ago.

90 jobs safe and protected. A family legacy continues. Now, it’s time for our next chapter. ❤️
Thank you for being part of our story. We will always look back with enormous pride, love and gratitude.

Stephen & Rona McAllister
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14/10/2026

It's , so treat yourself to true Scottish craft. Independent bakers across the country are keeping our high streets delicious with handmade treats baked with real passion.

Head to your local high-street baker today and taste the difference.

👇 What’s your non-negotiable bakery order? Tell us in the comments!

12/10/2026

09/10/2026

Fantastic to read about the story of Maria's Baking Stories Great to have them as part of the Scottish Bakers family 💕

"We moved to Scotland from Cyprus in 2015 because my brothers were working here at the time, they wanted us to come over, to work with them and try life in Scotland, so we did. We began working in Kirkcaldy at a bakery called Kingdom Bakers, in 2020, the factory shut due to the pandemic so we were suddenly out of a job. Suddenly we were stuck at home, in a foreign country with 3 kids, my parents were here at the time thankfully, but we had no choice, we had to think about what we would do.

I always had it in my head that I wanted to do something I was passionate about, this is my passion, baking. I'm from a family of bakers, my mum started baking when I was little, back in Cyprus. She would make these biscuits, selling them out of her church. This was at a time that my dad had suffered a heart attack and there was 4 kids to raise. Eventually people would help, and she began to sell to markets, my other 3 siblings went onto help out too. I was the baby and I would sleep on the sugar bags, this was my life in the bakery. We eventually had 12 bakeries in Cyprus as well as a factory.

Then the crisis came, the Cypriot Pound was very powerful, the Euro wasn't. It did more bad than good. All our families lost everything. My parents, my siblings and us. It was not long after that we came to Scotland to work with my brothers, it was time to begin again.

We began working from home, we'd make Cypriot pastries, then birthday cakes and then we'd be supplying afternoon teas. It got so busy, it was like a miracle. If you believe in miracles and we still live that everyday. Life can be a challenge but we got through it together.

It's been amazing since we opened up, we have customers who have become our friends, they're here every week and this is what I had in mind when I had my dream, I like to share what I do. I wanted people to be happy by eating cake.

Food is happiness

You share it with your friends, your family, it's a moment. We try to interact with everyone, we want people to feel like they're home. I remember in Cyprus, I was the baby, I had a quiet voice, but here, in this place, my voice is loud. I share my passion, my love with people. He is the reason you know"

Maria begins to cry and look at her husband

"He gave me the courage, and he still does. He believes in me more than I believe in myself.

This is everything for me, for us. I'm constantly thinking "what can I do next". It's not easy. But this place keeps me alive. Mike tries to get me to slow down but I can't.

We want to thank people because it feels like a miracle. Everyday we come here, we open up and I still don't believe it. But we are here, we have our shop and we are together. We have Peter and Amy and our kids help out now and again. I'm in the kitchen with Mike, and all day we bake. I see customers come in and I get energy from that and they always have something nice to say, they hug us, thank us.

"That's why we do it, that's everything to us"

Maria & Mike
Maria's Baking Stories

Please continue to support these wonderful people by enjoying their amazing food or if you can't get in when they open tomorrow, give this story a share ❤️

The Human Collective is sponsored by Fife Properties, Mitchell Street, Leven and Fife Properties Estate & Letting Agents Dunfermline, please give them a wee follow!

03/10/2026

🗳️ Something big is baking...

Scotland has never shied away from a good debate, and we're about to start one that everyone can get behind.

Forget politics... this is the debate that really matters.

The Great Scottish Baking Referendum is coming, and soon you'll have your say as Scotland's most iconic bakery favourites go head-to-head.

Get ready to meet your Members of Scottish Bakers (MSBs):

Harry Gow - The Dream Ring
J.G. Ross (Bakers) Limited - The Buttery
McGhee's Bakery - The Crispy Morning Roll
Company Bakery - Signature Sourdough Loaf
Brownings the Bakers - The Empire Biscuit
Christie the Baker - The Domino Cake

Who deserves your vote?

Stay tuned... 🍩🥐🥖

02/10/2026

As the countdown to spooky season continues, we would like to encourage all Scottish Bakers Members to share their Halloween specials with us for a chance to be featured in some upcoming content, showcasing the best spider cookies and pumpkin cakes that Scotland has to offer.

To be in with a chance to be featured, tag us in any content featuring your Halloween products, and share it with us via DM!

We can't wait to see who'll be guising, and whose dough will be rising.

30/09/2026

Life doesn't always go to plan, and when it doesn't, it's important to know you're not alone. 💙

The Scottish Bakers Benevolent Fund provides confidential financial support to people working in Scotland's baking industry who may be facing difficult circumstances.

Whether you need a helping hand yourself or know someone who does, we're here to help.

Find out more about the Benevolent Fund and the application process on our website. https://scottishbakers.org/scottish-bakers-benevolent-fund.php

28/09/2026

The implementation date for major sections of the Employment Rights Act has been confirmed for 30 October.

What you need to know:

Union Access & Info: Employers must legally inform staff about their right to join a trade union, while unions will gain access rights.

Harassment Liabilities: Stricter rules around preventing workplace harassment, including full liability for third party harassment (e.g. customer interactions with front-of-house staff).

Government updates are moving forward as planned, so now is the time to review your contracts, handbooks, and workplace policies.

Get support from Scottish Bakers. Don't wait until October to update your procedures. Members can login to our Members Area today to download the step-by-step implementation roadmap as part of the Peninsula HR package.

25/09/2026

Last night was the Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards for 2026! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿✨

The sector was out in full force, highlighting the incredible craft, dedication, and innovation driving our industry forward. We were delighted to see our members recognised among the very best in Scotland:

🏆 Brownings the Bakers Winners of Meat Product of the Year for the Kilmarnock Pie!
⭐ McGhee's Bakery Awarded Highly Commended for Employer of the Year!

It was also a privilege for our CEO, Lesley Cameron, to take to the stage and present the Bakery product award during the evening.

Huge congratulations to the teams at Brownings and McGhee’s, as well as all of last night’s nominees and winners!