Edinburgh Festival visitors develop a taste for haggis

A renowned Scottish haggis producer has experienced a hike in sales, which it believes is due to strong demand from tourists visiting the Edinburgh Fringe.

Macsween Edinburgh Ltd said their sales of haggis to Waitrose were up by approximately 15 per cent last week, while foodservice and wholesale orders from two customers had risen by an average of 32% over the same period.

Managing director James Macsween believes the increase in sales may have come from a combination of tourists eating haggis during the Festival, and because they enjoyed it so much, also buying it once they returned home 

He said: “I believe this trend suggests that festival-goers are dining out in restaurants during their time in Edinburgh, and when they return home, they crave the taste of Scotland. It's possible they have enjoyed our national dish while staying in an Airbnb and have added haggis to their shopping list once they are back home.”

Macsween Edinburgh was founded in the 1950s and is a third-generation company that employs around  50 people at its manufacturing base in Loanhead near Edinburgh. In addition to traditional haggis, it produces vegetarian haggis, as well as black pudding for both wholesale and retail markets.

James Macsween added: “Haggis is part of the heart and soul of Scotland and is loved all around the world for its great taste and strong association with Robert Burns. It is fantastic to see visitors to the world-famous Edinburgh Festival enjoying the product so much, which in turn helps to promote Scotland as a great food producing nation and ‘must visit’ destination.”