The traditional Burns Supper of haggis, neeps and tatties may become a thing of the past as Scots look to experiment with the national dish.
Most recently McKechnie Jess are celebrating after securing an exclusive deal with Asda to stock their new spicy and curry haggis lines in a deal worth £60k.
Asda will be the only major supermarket stocking the new ‘hybrid-haggis’ across all stores in Scotland from 14 January. Made using traditional methods, the haggis is then given additional seasoning to give it that extra added spice.
The Greenock based family business is one of the largest haggis producers in the country and anticipates selling over 400,000 units of their seven product lines in the two weeks for Burns, including the 900g and 454g haggis, natural casing haggis, haggis pakora and frozen haggis bites.
In addition to the new McKechnie Jess lines, Asda will be stocking a total of 18 haggis themed items in the lead up to Burns, with sales expected to rise by 32%, which equates to over 100,000 units or over 35 tonnes of the Scottish delicacy!
Ewan Anderson, Sales Director at McKechnie Jess, said; “We were inspired to make the curry and chilli flavoured haggis after watching a TV debate about how we eat more curry in Scotland than our national dish, the haggis. We thought why can’t we combine both?
“Whether it’s spicy haggis, haggis pakora or bites, we’re always looking for ways we can put a twist Scotland’s national dish and it’s clear from sales figures there is definitely a strong customer demand.”
June Rose, Asda’s assistant buying manager for Scotland, said: “It’s great to see suppliers getting in the spirit for Burns.
“It’s all about offering customers great tasting regional products at affordable prices. Throughout the month of January we are running our Great Taste Event which celebrates Burns Night and the rising popularity for local Scottish products, so there are 132 local discounted lines for customers to take advantage of.”
