Mackie’s of Scotland has announced that it will open its first branded retail unit as part of the £107 million Marischal Square development – signing a 15 year lease alongside All Bar One, Marriott Hotels and Aberdeen Journals.
With plans to open next summer, the new venture will provide fans of the brand with a choice of more than thirty flavours of ice cream, plus a growing range of chocolate now produced in the £600,000 chocolate factory at the family’s Westertown Farm near Inverurie.
The firm hopes its products, paired with artisan coffee and fresh local foods will eventually become a familiar fixture in many of Scotland’s towns and cities.
Karin Mackie, Marketing Director with Mackie’s of Scotland, said: “The last few years have seen us travel around the UK and further afield, including Italy and the United States to sample and experience some of the world’s best ice cream parlours and gelateria chocolatiers – and we are looking forward to bringing all we have learned to Aberdeen.
“Our developments in chocolate and ongoing experimentation with new ice cream flavour combinations mean that we are particularly excited to have taken one of the new retail units, which will contain a range of new and familiar products from Mackie's.
"We are proud of our North East heritage and we will work hard to make this a real positive addition to the centre of Aberdeen. We are very much viewing this as the next chapter for the business and want to create the flagship branch in our home city."
Councillor Marie Boulton of Aberdeen City Council, who along with Muse Developments and Aviva Investors are leading the Marischal Square development, said: “It is fantastic that Mackies, which is one of the best-known food and drink companies from the north-east, is opening up its first café in the Marischal Square development.
“The £107million Marischal Square development will help develop the east end of the city centre as part of the City Centre Masterplan plans for the area.
“We want to attract prestigious brands to Marischal Square so having Mackies which is a truly home-grown success and is now a country-wide name is a brilliant first to have.”
Muse Regional Director for Scotland, Steve Turner, believes the deal to attract Mackie’s represents another key moment in the development’s progress.
He said: “We are delighted to have another major and iconic North-east brand name join the list of occupiers at Marischal Square. The Mackie’s plans are exciting, innovative and exactly the kind of business proposition we are looking to bring to the project."
