BISCUIT manufacturer Nairn’s Oatcakes has started production at a £6.5 million gluten-free manufacturing operation.
The facility, in Newtongrange, Midlothian, was constructed after its existing gluten-free sites reached full production capacity.
Nairn’s is one of the largest manufacturers of gluten-free products in the UK and the business said the new plant would allow it to meet demand for its current range, and develop new products to add to the portfolio.
Gluten-free products have been described as the driving force behind the UK’s £500m “free-form” market, which targets allergy sufferers and those with specific diets. Nairn’s said the new site would be a key asset in delivering long-term growth plans.
Martyn Gray, Nairn’s managing director, said: “Production at our current site had reached a ceiling, with limited scope for growth. With investment in larger-scale premises and plant, we now have both the capacity and competitive cost profile, associated with greater automation, to secure and develop the long term future of Nairn’s.”
Funding was provided by long term banking partner HSBC.
Donald Rankine, relationship director at HSBC in Scotland, said: “The gluten-free sector is thriving so we were more than happy to fund Nairn’s new manufacturing site and support the business’ ambitions.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here