Waitrose seeks Scottish food champions

Waitrose will open its store at Newton Mearns in May. The Meet The Buyer event in Glasgow next month will give producers the chance to pitch to Waitrose buyers – in a Dragons' Den style – with the prospect of supplying the supermarket’s first newbuild store and its three existing Scottish stores, with the potential to supply over 200 more stores south of the Border.

The supermarket already stocks 250 Scottish products and is now looking for more that meet its high standards on quality, provenance and value.

Tracey Marshall, Waitrose’s regional buyer for Scotland, explains how Waitrose finds new suppliers: "First and foremost we’re looking for fantastic new products. We know that our customers enjoy high quality food, as well as being interested in where that food comes from and how it’s made, but it’s also about finding suppliers whom we can build long-term relationships with.

"There are many ways I hear about particular products, whether that’s because I try them at local and regional food festivals, or because I’ve been told about a fantastic range that a friend or colleague has tried on holiday.

The company has unique sourcing policies. All the foods sourced through Waitrose’s local and regional sourcing initiative come from small-scale producers. They include everything from ice cream to sausages, soup to wine, as well as regionally produced fruit and vegetables. There are more than 2,300 different lines in all from all corners of the UK