Bells Food Group secures major own-label supermarket listing

The deal will see five and a half million packs of puff pastry made by Bells sold in 862 stores nationwide, including ready roll, block and Tesco Finest butter pastry.

Commenting on the contract, Bells managing director Ronnie Miles said: “This is a significant achievement for the business and down to the quality of the products, the team at Bells and the trust that Tesco has invested in us to deliver this contract which will double the turnover of our Dykehead Bakery.”​

Top Scottish brands

News of the new supply contract followed a successful period of Growth for Bells, which saw the manufacturer place third in Kantar’s analysis of the top 50 Scottish take-home food and drinks brands.

Philip Wilson, buying manager for Pastry at Tesco, added: “Tesco has a long history of supporting the Scottish food and drink sector and a long history of working with Bells.​

“It’s great to see these two things come together with Bells now supplying Tesco own label across the UK. We look forward to serving our customers across the UK a fantastic pastry.”​

In the family

Established in 1931 by David Bell, Bells is a third generation family-owned baker that today boasts an annual turnover of about £26m. The manufacturer bakes 16 million Scotch pies each year and employs about 220 members of staff

Bells has cornered 60% of the hot pie market in Scotland and operates two bakeries and a distribution centre in Shotts.

In 2021, Bells invested in new machinery to replace an ageing Scotch pie production line installed 20 years ago.

Meanwhile, Irish brand, Keogh’s Crisps, continued with its international roll-out after signing a deal with UK distributor Bobby’s Foods​​ to supply up to 20,000 stores nationwide.