Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne, who chairs Scotland Food & Drink, will step down from her role when her tenure ends in October, the industry body has announced.

Ms Bruce-Gardyne, who notes on her LinkedIn profile that she is the creator of the “first fresh gluten free bread on the market” and founder of Genius Foods, has chaired Scotland Food & Drink since 2021.

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Iain Baxter, chief executive of Scotland Food and Drink, said: “Lucinda is a greatly valued ambassador for our industry, bringing passion and commitment to supporting the sector and helping create opportunities for growth.

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“Myself, the board, the partnership and the team at Scotland Food & Drink has enjoyed working with her and she’ll be greatly missed. We wish her all the best for the future.”

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A spokeswoman for Scotland Food & Drink said: "We'll soon be starting the process to find Lucinda’s replacement so an update on that will be announced when that’s complete."

Scotland Food & Drink notes on its website: “We are here to nurture, support and champion the people and products of Scotland’s food and drink industry to help deliver continued and growing success and enhance Scotland’s global reputation.

“We perform that task in two ways. One, we are a membership organisation with over 450 businesses to engage with and encourage; two, we lead the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership, a collaborative alliance of key industry organisations and public sector agencies.”