PERTHSHIRE-BASED Scarletts Beekeepers and Honey Packers has signed a £100,000 deal to supply ALDI stores in Scotland with Scottish Blossom Honey.

Established in 1999 as a commercial beekeeping business in Blairgowrie, Scarletts is now one of the largest beekeeping companies in Scotland and is best known for producing Scottish Blossom honey – a firm favourite at farmers markets, delicatessens and, now, ALDI.

Managing director and owner Andrew Scarlett credits the taste of the final product down to the choice honey making environment offered up by the Scottish countryside. May sees the start of pollination season when Scarletts will have millions of bees out pollinating vast areas of soft fruit, lowland flowers like fruit blossoms as well as the purple heather of the Grampian hills.

Andrew said: “We’re thrilled that one of our honeys will be on ALDI shelves. This new deal will bring our Scottish Blossom Honey to ALDI shoppers in Scotland for at least a year, and we see great potential to extend that deal to include our other honey products if this one proves popular.

“As a result of this deal, we can invest in new machinery to enhance our automated packing and look to employ additional staff to meet the demand for our honey," he added. "The beekeeping industry has faced difficulties in recent years and deals like this are a welcome boost to Scottish beekeepers who contribute so much to pollination and the ecology of our country.”

ALDI Scotland group buying director Graham Nicolson said: “This new deal with Scarletts is another example of our commitment to sourcing local products and supporting Scottish producers. It is hugely important to us that our customers know that when they shop at an ALDI store in Scotland they’ll find one in three everyday products is sourced from Scotland.”