The Bread Guys
Founded by brother and sister team Gary and Donna, The Bread Guys offers its customers traditional baking with a modern twist. Located in Aberdeen, the family-run artisan bakery sources the freshest and most authentic ingredients, and uses traditional techniques to ensure the highest quality for its bread, cakes, pies and sweet treats.
Here, we speak to Gary McAllister, co-founder and managing director, to discover what makes The Bread Guys unique, and the proudest moments of the business' journey so far.
Scottish Food & Drink September 2026
What's the story behind launching The Bread Guys – do you remember the moment it went from the initial spark of an idea to reality?
The journey of The Bread Guys began in May 2019 when my sister Donna and I turned our vision into reality. We started out in a modest initial unit with a straightforward goal to bake better bread, and that initial spark has since grown into a multi-site bakery operating across Aberdeenshire, with retail sites in Torry, Ballater, Thistle Street, and Great Northern Road.
Is there a technique, recipe, or process you've kept true to since the start? What are the secrets to baking the perfect artisan bread?
From day one, our core baking philosophy has remained anchored in clean-label formulations and non-ultra-processed food standards. The secret to our artisan approach is keeping ingredients pure and local; we completely avoid artificial E-numbers, replace industrial shortening with locally-sourced cold-pressed rapeseed oil from Mackintosh of Glendaveny, use 100% British wheat flour from Matthews Cotswold Flour, and rely on traditional sourdough preferments for unmatched flavor and structure.
You have gone from starting with a 20-year-old second hand oven to now employing 35 members of staff. How has the wider Scottish food and drink industry – such as community support, funding, fellow producers – helped shape your success?
Scaling from a humble 20-year-old second-hand oven to a team of 35 dedicated staff members has been deeply shaped by the wider Scottish food and drink community. Collaborating with incredible local producers, utilising support from initiatives like FDF Scotland's Reformul8 Challenge Fund, showcasing through ONE SeedPod at the Royal Highland Show, and building strong distribution partnerships with stockists such as SPAR Scotland, Costco, and Dobbies have all been vital to our expansion.
What have been some of the proudest moments in your business journey so far?
Some of our proudest milestones include holding the national title of Scottish Baker of the Year continuously from May 2024 to May 2026. More recently, winning 'Best in Scotland' in the 'Better For You' category for our saturated fat-reduced softies, securing Regional Gold for our morning rolls, and being named joint winner of the Innovative Impact Award at the North East Scotland Food & Drink Awards stand out as incredible highlights for the whole team.
What does ‘Scottish food and drink’ mean to you, beyond geography?
To us, Scottish food and drink represents a commitment to quality, provenance, and community integrity. It extends far beyond a physical location – it is about honoring traditional heritage, supporting local agricultural supply chains, and championing transparency through clean-label baking that consumers can trust implicitly.
The theme of this year’s Scottish Food & Drink September is ‘Every Bite Tells a Story’. When someone takes a bite of your products, what story do you want it to tell them?
When someone enjoys our butteries, scones, or sourdough, we want every bite to tell a story of craftsmanship, local pride, and family dedication. It reflects our journey from early grassroots beginnings to crafting wholesome, award-winning bakes that celebrate the very best of Scottish baking tradition without ever compromising on quality.
