Walker's Shortbread Explained

Walker's Shortbread Ltd.
Type:Private
Industry:Baked goods
Founded: in Torphins, Scotland
Founder:Joseph Walker
Location:Aberlour House
Aberlour, Scotland
Area Served:Worldwide
Revenue: (2022)[1]
Num Employees:1,400 (2023)
Products:Shortbread, biscuits, cookies, and crackers

Walker's Shortbread Ltd. (formerly Walkers) is a Scottish manufacturer of shortbread, biscuits, cookies, and crackers. The shortbread is baked in the Moray village of Aberlour, following a recipe developed by Joseph Walker in 1898.

The company is one of Scotland's biggest exporters of food,[2] [3] and employs over 1,200 people.[4] It is sold in tartan packaging all over the world.[5]

History

The business was founded by Joseph Walker in the village of Aberlour, Speyside, in 1898. It quickly started producing shortbread.[6] The company started producing oaten biscuits for Duchy Originals in 1992, having been approached the previous year.[7]

The profits of Walker's Shortbread, which is also still owned and managed by the Walker family,[8] were diminished by a global increase in the price of butter in 2018 by around 50%[9] due to supply shortages and demand increases, resulting in the company seeing a 60% drop in operating profit.[10]

The company rebranded, in 2020, changing its name to Walker's Shortbread Ltd.[11] It announced it was exploring how to create a vegan version of the butter-based biscuit in 2024.[12]

Locations

Walker's Shortbread have their headquarters at Aberlour House in Aberlour and have a production site in Elgin.[13]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sir Jim Walker: 'Product and People' at heart of £164 million family shortbread business . 19 December 2023 . . Saunderson . Chris.
  2. News: Iconic shortbread maker Walker's slims product range and pays back £1.3m to government . Scott . Reid . . 7 October 2020 . 3 December 2023.
  3. News: Complaints over Walkers' shortbread sold under a Union Flag . Martin . Williams . . Glasgow . 3 December 2023.
  4. News: Profits plunge at Walker's Shortbread takes shine off higher sales . Alex . Banks . . 3 October 2023 . 3 December 2023.
  5. News: All you need to know about Walker's Shortbread . Maddy . Searle . . 6 October 2017 . 18 October 2021.
  6. Book: Kay, Emma . A History of British Baking: From Blood Bread to Bake-off . Pen & Sword . 2020 . 113–114.
  7. Book: McCrea, Diane . The Handbook of Organic and Fair Trade Food Marketing . 2007 . . Oxford . 9780470996089 . 176–180.
  8. News: Bindrim . Kira . Walkers Shortbread names new CEO . 8 June 2015 . NewYorkBusiness.com . Crain Communications . 2 July 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070927070227/http://newyorkbusiness.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20070702%2FFREE%2F70702015%2F-1%2Frss01&rssfeed=rss01 . 27 September 2007 . live.
  9. Web site: The butter market is going crazy . Oscar . Williams-Grut . . 26 March 2019.
  10. News: Shortbread firm hit by butter price surge . 18 July 2018 . . 26 March 2019.
  11. News: Symon . Ken . Walker's Shortbread returns furlough payments as it reports increased turnover and marginally reduced profits . 3 September 2021 . . Insider Publications . 7 October 2020.
  12. News: Woolfson . Daniel . 3 March 2023 . Royal shortbread maker poised to go vegan . . 1 April 2023 . 0307-1235.
  13. Web site: History & Heritage . 2023 . WalkersShortbread.com . 3 December 2023.

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