Walker's Shortbread Ltd. (formerly Walkers) is a Scottish manufacturer of
shortbread
Shortbread or shortie is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part sugar, white sugar, two parts butter and three to four parts plain flour, plain wheat flour. Shortbread does not contain leavening, such as baking powder or bakin ...
,
biscuits,
cookie
A cookie is a sweet biscuit with high sugar and fat content. Cookie dough is softer than that used for other types of biscuit, and they are cooked longer at lower temperatures. The dough typically contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of ...
s, and
crackers. The shortbread is baked in the
Moray
Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 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. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...
village of
Aberlour, following a recipe developed by Joseph Walker in 1898.
The company is one of Scotland's biggest exporters of food, and employs over 1,200 people.
It is sold in
tartan
Tartan or plaid ( ) is a patterned cloth consisting of crossing horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours, forming repeating symmetrical patterns known as ''setts''. Originating in woven wool, tartan is most strongly associated wi ...
packaging all over the world.
History
The business was founded by Joseph Walker in the village of
Aberlour,
Speyside, in 1898. It quickly started producing shortbread.
During the 1930s, two of Walkers' sons – James and Joseph – joined the family business. By 1936 they had purchased a van to allow for delivery of Walker's products outside of the local area. Joseph Walker, the founder, died in 1954 and passed the company to his children. By 1961, all three of James Walkers' children were also working for the firm. By 1970, the company had expanded to almost 100 employees, 14 vans, and two additional shops in the nearby towns of
Elgin and
Grantown-on-Spey
Grantown-on-Spey () is a town in the Highland Council Area, Counties of Scotland, historically within the county of Moray. It is located on a low plateau at Freuchie beside the river Spey at the northern edge of the Cairngorms, Cairngorm mounta ...
. It had also expanded its baking operations in the store and its products could be found in British fine food stores. During the 1970s, the company would begin exporting to over 60 countries and by 1975 the company had opened its own factory.
The company started producing oaten biscuits for
Duchy Originals in 1992, having been approached the previous year.
The profits of Walker's Shortbread, which is also still owned and managed by the Walker family, were diminished by a global increase in the price of butter in 2018 by around 50% due to supply shortages and demand increases, resulting in the company seeing a 60% drop in operating profit. In 2023 the firm employed 1,500 staff and had a turnover of £.
The company rebranded, in 2020, changing its name to Walker's Shortbread Ltd. It announced it was exploring how to create a
vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...
version of the butter-based biscuit in 2024.
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
*
Scottish cuisine
References
{{reflist
External links
Official site
Food manufacturers of Scotland
Bakeries of the United Kingdom
Food and drink companies established in 1898
1898 establishments in Scotland
Companies based in Moray
Shortbread
Family-owned companies of Scotland
Aberlour