Bumper chocolate and take-home ice cream sales have allowed one of Scotland's top food brands to reinvest millions into its sustainability drive.

In the year ending 31 May, 2020, Mackie’s of Scotland saw its revenue rise 1% to £16.7m and operating profits increase a massive 61% to £3.4m. Chocolate sales improved by 46% after recipe refinements helped secure further supermarket listings and buyer loyalty.

As the family firm began construction of a £4.5m low-carbon refrigeration system that will become one of the most advanced in Europe, it also saw net assets increase by 18% to £18.59m – a sign of the huge level of investment back into the business and its green ambitions.

Mac Mackie, managing director of the business and one of three sibling owners has heralded the firm’s performance, highlighting that the figures factor in the first three months of lockdown.

He said: “These stellar results are made all the more impressive when we consider that we were 'competing' against the previous financial year, which accounted for the record heatwave summer of 2018. We broke all our own records then – and thought it would be very difficult to match that in the following year."

And, while everything other than frozen desserts was flying off the shelf during the first lockdown, the introduction of the 'Mini Collection' – four single-serving sized tubs of ice cream in our two biggest selling flavours – proved a winning format for working families and home-schooling.

Mackie’s, which is based on the fourth-generation Westertown Farm in Aberdeenshire continues to invest profits into the long-term sustainability of the business, which is already carbon positive thanks in part to four major wind turbines and a 10-acre solar farm, once Scotland’s largest.

This coming year will see it complete the construction of its new low-carbon refrigeration system, the first of its kind in Scotland and one of just a handful across Europe to utilise new technology that uses biomass heat and ammonia – and is projected to reduce Mackie’s energy use by up to 80%.

The Aberdeenshire brand has had a strong start to 2021, with a recent study from Kantar Worldpanel showing that UK demand for premium ice cream has surged during the last year, with Mackie’s experiencing a 37% growth in sales, second only to one other premium brand, as consumers seek 'moments of joy'.

Over the years it has become Scotland's best-selling ice cream and has made Mackie's one of the UK's top brands for luxury ice cream, produced using fresh milk and cream from their dairy herd on the farm.

The company's ‘sky to scoop’ ethos sees it create everything from milk to its packaging on site, powered predominantly by its farm produced renewable energy.