Scotmid has reinforced its commitment to supporting Scottish suppliers by boosting its supplier team with the appoint of a new local sourcing manager.
Jessica Van Tromp was appointed to the role after completing a two-year joint graduate programme after demonstrating commitment to championing the presence of local products in Scotmid stores.
During her placement with Scotmid, she held responsibility for buying management of eight key Scottish suppliers and achieved sales growth of £376k with these suppliers.
She also introduced 34 new Scottish products to Scotmid and introduced 15 new suppliers.
Jess spent time during the programme working within the organisation’s UK Market Development team, ensuring Scotmid shared best practice with the industry, through briefing events, workshops and learning journeys – as well as being involved in bringing partnerships between the retailer and suppliers, to life.
She said: “Scotmid is committed to investing further in its partnerships with local suppliers, which will help them to both grow and expand their business as well allow us to offer exciting, locally sourced Scottish products to our customers.
“We know that they enjoy buying local, for both quality and taste as well as the desire to help boost the economy through supporting Scottish businesses. I’m really looking forward to working with more of them and to expanding our relationships even more widely in my new role.”
Kirsty Carnegy, Head of Local Sourcing at Scotmid, said: “Having Jessica on board is a great win for Scotmid as we seek to extend our involvement with local suppliers.
“We have seen first-hand her hard work, determination and passion for Scottish provenance, which is reflected in the impact she has already made. She has played an integral role in introducing several innovative new products to Scotmid stores across Scotland, which our customers have been enjoying.”
