Bells Food Group has won a contract to produce own-label pastry for Tesco in a move that will create 15 jobs for the Scotch pie maker.
The deal will see 5.5 million packs of puff pastry across five different formats sold in 862 of the supermarket giant’s stores across the UK.
Shotts-based Bells bakes 16 million Scotch pies every year and is behind six out of every 10 hot pies sold in Scotland. It has a turnover of around £26m and employs 220 staff.
The third-generation family-owned business was founded in 1931. It started making pastry in 1955 after Donald Bell saw a packet of ready-made pastry in a shop while holidaying in England and spotted a gap in the Scottish market.
Current boss Ronnie Miles commented: “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.”
Philip Wilson, Tesco’s buying manager for Pastry, said: “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.”
