Royal Visit For Scottish Pate Producer
Castle MacLellan Foods, the Scottish luxury pate producer based at the fishing town of Kirkcudbright, was visited recently by the British Queen. Established for over 28 years, Castle MacLellan Foods has grown from a small operation producing several tubs of pate a day in the back of a small delicatessen, to a national player, supplying supermarkets the length and breadth of the country.
Its foray into the retail sector began when a supermarket buyer tasted the products whilst on holiday in Kirkcudbright. By 1987 demand was such that a new factory was built in order to enable business to grow.
Castle MacLellan Foods was purchased by Norwegian company Kavli in 1997. Kavli produces a large variety of food products sold in more than 30 countries, and has production facilities in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, England and Scotland.
Working with Kavli, over £1m has been invested in new machinery over the last two years, improving efficiency and increasing production capacity to meet with growing demand for the Castle MacLellan brand, as well as retailer own label products.
The Kavli group is owned by the Kavli Trust, a charitable organisation set up by the Kavli family in 1962. Profits from the group’s commercial activities are used to support good causes both in the UK and around the world – ranging from disaster relief and fair-trade projects, to dementia research and the support of education and cultural projects.
CAPTION:
The Queen meets Castle MacLellan general manager Elaine McConnell.
