Gourmet’s Choice retains its “Specialist exporter of the year” title
For a one hundred year-old Portsoy-based producer of smoked salmon to win the “UK Specialist Food Exporter of the Year” title at Food from Britain’s annual export awards in December 2005 was probably a bit unexpected. But for the same company, Gourmet's Choice, to retain its title one year later is nothing short of remarkable.
The family-run Banffshire business recognised in 2003 that the domestic UK smoked salmon market was becoming saturated with high-volume, low-cost products, and had set an ambitious five-year plan to grow its export business into premium overseas markets from 2% to 70% of turnover by 2010.
In the event, the company, which is based right on the picturesque ancient harbour in Portsoy, came very close to reaching that challenging milestone with a comfortable four years to spare.
And some of the company’s most spectacular recent export successes were not even taken into account in its successful submission. “We made huge gains into Middle East and Russian markets late last year well ahead of schedule,” notes Gourmet's Choice sales director Terry Curran (pictured).
“We were very cautious initially at the amount of red tape surrounding the Russian market in particular, but, with some sterling assistance from Scottish Development International’s in-market representatives, we managed to bond with our new customers and make an early breakthrough.”
A period of consolidation
As if further recognition of Gourmet's Choice’s export prowess was needed, the company also came in a highly commendable runner-up in the overall “Scottish Exporter Award” at the same dinner at the Savoy in London, finishing behind another Scottish smoked salmon specialist, Duns-based Farne Salmon and trout.
Although the company would clearly love to go for a famous hat-trick of awards later this year, Terry Curran is counselling a few words of caution.
“After such remarkable progress in only a few hectic years, we feel we may have to consolidate a bit during 2007,” he explains. “There are a few Middle East markets which we haven’t quite cracked yet, like Dubai, which may take some long-term marketing effort.”
Although the company's success is underpinned by a century-old smoking recipe closely guarded by the Sutherland family and its master smokers, Gourmet's Choice is also adept at utilising on the full range of sophisticated 21st century exporting techniques to take its traditional products into prime new overseas markets.
For some years, the company has drawn on the wide-ranging export support services delivered by Business Gateway International, Scottish Enterprise Grampian, Scottish Development International, Food from Britain and other agencies.
"These experienced agencies have been quite invaluable both in helping us to work out where we wanted to take our business, and also in deciding how we could get there," agrees Terry.
“As well as valuable strategic advice and financial support, we have also been able to benefit from media training, marketing training, technical and waste management support."
Innovative new recipes
To underpin its next campaign to find favour with international palates, Gourmet’s Choice is currently bending (and even breaking) more than a few seafood rules in its in-house development kitchen.
The young product development team has come up with some novel dishes which, according to Terry, are already performing very well in research tests.
These include sausage-shaped garlic and spring onion salmon sizzlers and, intriguingly, salmon and onion bhaji patties!
With a healthy order book in markets as diverse as Italy, Spain, Japan and Kuwait, Gourmet’s Choice is a classic example of how to harness wide-ranging export support resources in order to make spectacular progress.
"To retain our export award in the Savoy back in December was an incredibly proud moment for all of us," recalls Terry Curran. "That's when you realise that all the hard slog, all the setting of ambitious targets, have really been worthwhile."
Visit the Gourmet's Choice website at http://www.gourmetschoice.net/
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