They say travel broadens the mind. Whether or not that is the case, it was certainly interesting to spend some time in Portugal recently and observe how Scotland could perhaps learn a thing or two from the Iberian country when it comes to promoting itself – and its produce. Having enjoyed a few days in both Lisbon and Porto, Portugal’s two biggest cities, the impression became clear that this is a country more adept than Scotland at marketing its food and drink assets to visitors.

I examined the issue in one of my Business Voices columns in The Herald, in which I wrote that while Scotland is successful in promoting its food and drink on the world stage, there is arguably less obvious messaging about local goods in our restaurants and bars.

“Sure, there are scores of high-quality outlets and chefs that do champion Scottish produce on their menus, but it is far less widespread than in the teeming streets of Porto and Lisbon, where there are far fewer restaurant chains and the promotion of the local dishes is very much the order of the day, no matter the size of the business,” the column stated.

The piece went on to consider the very visible presence of major drinks producers in the two cities, “especially in Porto, where you are left in no doubt about the importance of the historic Port industry to the economy.

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“Indeed, looking over the Douro [River] from its famous bridges or cable car, the skyline is dominated by names such as Sandeman, Graham’s, and Dow’s on the Vila Nova de Gaia side of the river,” the piece added.

“This seemed interesting in the context of the recent debate around proposals to restrict alcohol advertising and marketing in Scotland, which in their original form would have outlawed the kind of branding that is so visible and woven into the fabric of the Porto economy.

One would imagine the authorities in Porto have no plans to follow a similar path to Scotland, where a fresh set of proposals is expected to be brought forward after the original measures were so vigorously opposed by the drinks industry.”

Some of Scotland’s most famous food brands were in focus following their acquisition by a new company founded by two industry veterans.

Macallan Food Group, which was established by Bill Hazeldean and Stewart McLelland, has bought sausage and steak pie maker Malcolm Allan and taken a controlling interest in Macsween of Edinburgh, the haggis and black pudding company.

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Macallan declared in a statement Malcom Allan and Macsween would continue to be run as separate entities. Maclcolm Allan employs 108 people at its factory in Larbert, while Macsween has 55 staff at Loanhead. A spokesman said Macallan plans to grow both businesses, which will be aided by a strategic review.

“Acquiring the Malcolm Allan business, alongside our investment in Macsween’s of Edinburgh, brings together two excellent businesses, both having product quality and customer service as their key priorities and core value,” said Mr Hazeldean, chairman of the new company.

While Macallan Food Group was on the up, the opposite was the case for Axis Studios. The Glasgow-based animation company, which produced content for Disney and Netflix, fell into administration, leading to virtually all of its staff being made redundant.

Some 162 people lost their jobs after production on all projects was ceased following the appointment of administrators to Axis Productions Limited and Axis VFX Limited, both trading as Axis Studios, on July 15.

The company, which employed 166 people across offices in Glasgow and Bristol, had been developing animations in Scotland since 2000 and, by 2008, had grown to become Scotland’s largest animation studio.

However, the company was affected by a downturn in work and a rise in labour costs, leading to “severe cash flow problems”, according to joint administrators Alistair McAlinden and Geoff Jacobs at Interpath Advisory. A spokeswoman for Interpath confirmed 147 redundancies have been made at Axis Productions, the entity based in Glasgow.

Meanwhile, Forth Green Freeport, the public-private consortium set up to regenerate a huge swathe of east and central Scotland blighted by industrial decline, unveiled its first chief executive. The freeport appointed economic development specialist Sarah Murray to the role shortly after it officially opened for business in June, when it secured approval of its outline business case from the Scottish and UK governments. That gave it a special tax designation to incentivise companies involved in the energy transition and drive to net zero to establish bases in three sites covered by the freeport, Grangemouth, Rosyth, and Mid-Forth (Leith and Burntisland), and create jobs across an area spanning 550 hectares.