Sydney B Scott & Sons have 60 years’ experience supplying exceptional fruit & veg produce and service to the retail, catering and hospitality industries throughout Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. They have also launched the innovative Scotts Crispy Onions range, which is going down a storm in both catering and retail south of the border. We dropped into their base in Coleraine and met director David Scott to find out more about the history and current well-being of this truly outstanding family business.

Synonymous with sourcing the best and freshest produce – from locally-sourced vegetables to hand-prepared fruit – from local, regional and international growers, Sydney B Scott & Sons are also the go-to supplier for fresh bread, eggs and dairy produce, as well as their very own innovative Crispy Onions range.

With a fleet of eight vans on the road daily delivering the finest fruit, vegetables and provisions to supermarkets, shops and restaurants all over Northern Ireland and beyond, they are renowned for quality and service – and also deliver value for money

Sydney B Scott & Sons has played a leading role in everyday life in Northern Ireland since its inception in 1955. Reflecting on the genesis of the business, current MD David Scott notes: “In the late ‘40s and early 50s, my father, Sydney, and uncle, Wilson, were in the forces – the navy and air forces respectively – and they then bought two bicycles and went from door-to-door selling hardware out of suitcases.

“Wilson bought a van and decided to continue with that business, while my father went to Belfast with £14 and a borrowed lorry and got his first load of fruit & veg from Frank E Benner in 1955. He grew the business from there.”

From the beginning, a strong work ethic was inherent in the business, with Sydney setting off to market at 3am and completing up to 60 deliveries single-handedly before returning late in the evening to get ready for the next day.

December, 2011 saw the opening of Sydney B Scott & Sons’ farm shop, selling quality fresh fruit and vegetables directly to the public. Just like the wholesale business, the farm shop’s priorities are quality and service whilst also providing a range of products unlike anywhere else in the area.

Produce is wholesaled almost 50-50 into the catering trade (hotels and restaurants) and retail markets (including Spar, Mace, Super Valu and Centra).

David elaborates a little further on the comprehensive product range: “We supply the catering trade with Farmview milk, Hovis bread, locally-sourced eggs and loose and pre-packed Mossview potatoes. Some milk and potatoes also go to retail. As well as fresh fruit and veg, we do prepared, diced and chipped potatoes to hotels and restaurants through V Semple & Sons Ltd., Limavady. We also do a range of pre-cooked / blanched potatoes as well.

“All the mushrooms, broccoli, carrots etc. are sourced locally. This is very important to us. Where we can, we buy as much of our vegetables as we can locally. It’s vitally important to support local industry in towns like Coleraine. We’d buy all our own clothes locally as well and eat out in local restaurants in order to do everything we can to help support the community here.”

How difficult is it to maintain a steady supply of consistently-excellent produce all year around? “Traditionally, the best time of year for local fruit & veg would be from September until February but there is an excellent twelve-month supply now because of the way growers can store their produce.

“Our busiest time is from April through to the end of September as well as Halloween, Christmas and Easter. We cover every corner of the six counties for both catering and retail. The first van rolls out of our warehouse at 5am and we cover the entire province daily six days per week.”

Going forward, David Scott is determined to keep providing top-quality produce and service levels and to continue to cater for customers, suppliers and employees alike. “You have to make sure you bring new ideas to customers all the time and that you remain ahead of the competition,” he notes. “We’ve just introduced a new healthy eating range and will launch a new gourmet range after Christmas.

“On a day-to-day basis, we have 60 employees and we have to provide for all of those families. We’re not only thinking of the Scott family – we’re all in it together,” David concludes. “My father once had a poster made that said ‘The quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten’ and that stuck with me. Quality is everything. The produce has to be right.

“We have 15 core suppliers and they provide us with quality produce. In turn, we believe in loyalty to them. If somebody looks after you, then you stick with them and don’t chop and change. Suppliers are very important. You can’t do without customers, but you can’t do without suppliers either. So you have to be thinking of both.”

Sydney B Scott & Sons think of everything – that’s why this third-generation family business continues to thrive!

Scotts Crispy Onions

Meanwhile, Scotts Crispy Onions was established four years ago as a subsidiary business to complement Sydney B Scott & Sons and has gone from strength to strength, now boasting five different flavours in its product range – Original, Sweet Chill, Steak & Onion, Curry and Smokey Bacon. Millions of packets have already been sold in a relatively-short period of time since the launch of the innovative product range, which is a tasty and convenient complement to any meal.

Scotts Crispy Onions can be found in Super Valu and Centra stores all over the Republic of Ireland, both for retail and also at deli counters for uses on rolls and wraps etc. A lot of butchers shops also stock them and they have recently been launched with BWG (Mace, Spar, Londis).

This side of the business has experienced substantial growth, evolving from a standing start four years ago to selling over one million packets per year and providing employment for twelve.

“My brother, Richard, and myself came into the business in 1985 and took over the day-to-day running of it,” David notes. “I look after the fruit & veg operation with help from my sons, Peter and Daniel, and daughter, Kathryn, while Richard and his son, Christopher, look after the crispy onion business.”

Richard’s late daughter, Emma, was also a big part of the Crispy Onion business in its early days and played a major role in helping get it off the ground.

In total, between the Crispy Onions and Sydney B Scott & Sons, direct employment is generated for around 60 people – not bad from an initial investment of £14!

Sydney B Scott & Sons / Scotts Crispy Onions,

96 Moneybrannon Road,

Aghadowey,

Coleraine,

Northern Ireland,

BT51 3SL.

Tel: 028 7034 2824

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.sydneybscott.com / www.scottscrispyonions.com

Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 9, November/December 2016

Scotts Crispy Onions, Sydney B Scott & Sons