Walker's Shortbread is a Scottish manufacturer of
shortbread
Shortbread or shortie is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three to four parts plain wheat flour. Unlike many other biscuits and baked goods, shortbread does not contain any leavening, ...
,
biscuit
A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be ...
s,
cookie
A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, n ...
s and
crackers. The company's well-known shortbread is baked in the
Moray
Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.
Between 1975 ...
village of
Aberlour, following a recipe developed by Joseph Walker in 1898. Walkers Shortbread operates four factories in Aberlour, where the company is also headquartered, and two in nearby Elgin, Scotland.
The company is Scotland's biggest exporter of food and employs over 4,000 people in 15 locations.
It is sold in
tartan
Tartan ( gd, breacan ) is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Sc ...
packaging all over the world.
History
The business was founded by Joseph Walker in the village of
Torphins
Torphins ( ; gd, Tòrr Fionn) is a village in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland which lies about west of Aberdeen. It is situated on the A980, about north-west of Banchory, and was once served by the Great North of Scotland Railway.
W ...
,
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...
, in 1898.
In 1992, Walkers Shortbread started producing oaten biscuits for
Duchy Originals
Waitrose Duchy Organic (formerly Duchy Originals from Waitrose and earlier simply Duchy Originals) is a brand of organic food sold in Waitrose stores in the United Kingdom. The brand is a partnership between Waitrose and Duchy Originals Limited, ...
, having been approached the previous year.
In 2006, Walkers announced that the bakery in Aberlour would be closing and turning into a research facility for the company.
The company has received the
Queen's Award for Export
The Queen's Awards for Enterprise is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation, sustainable development or promoting opportunity (through social mobility). They are the highest ...
Achievement three times. Walkers Shortbread is also still owned and managed by the Walker family.
In 2017 Walkers Shortbread was granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment from Her Majesty The Queen for the supply of Shortbread to the Royal Household.
In 2018 the company's profits were diminished by a global increase in the price of butter by around 50% due to global supply shortages and demand increases, resulting in the company seeing a 60% drop in operating profit.
In 2020, the company rebranded, changing their name to Walker's Shortbread Ltd.
Locations
Walker's Shortbread have their headquarters at
Aberlour House in
Aberlour and have a production site in
Elgin.
See also
*
List of shortbread biscuits and cookies
This is a list of shortbread biscuits and cookies. Shortbread is a type of biscuit or cookie traditionally made from one part sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour as measured by weight. Shortbread originated in Scotland; the first recor ...
*
Scottish cuisine
Scottish cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with Scotland. It has distinctive attributes and recipes of its own, but also shares much with British and wider European cuisine as a result of local, region ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Official site
Scottish brands
Food manufacturers of Scotland
Food and drink companies of Scotland
Bakeries of the United Kingdom
Food and drink companies established in 1898
1898 establishments in Scotland
Companies based in Moray
Shortbread