Vegetarian haggis to hit US in time for Burns Night

21 Jan 2020 --- Edinburgh-based Macsween family firm has launched its vegetarian haggis for the US market just in time for Burns Night, marking the company’s first export to America in nearly 50 years. Despite there still being a US import ban on traditional haggis, Macsween decided to export its award-winning vegetarian haggis for the free-from, plant-based and vegan markets. Branded in the US as “Scottish Veggie Crumble,” Macsween’s haggis is available in 14 Fairway Market stores across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

According to the company, the launch of the Scottish Veggie Crumble means there is a seat at the table for everyone this Burns Night (Saturday January 25), as the new product caters for non-meat eaters. 

“Getting any new product listed in an export market is vital for success,” James Macsween, Managing Director of Macsween of Edinburgh, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. “Ideally, I would have loved to have begun with our award-winning traditional meat haggis, but we are still waiting for the US meat haggis ban to be lifted. In the meantime, I hope that the Macsween brand and our Scottish Veggie Crumble will become established and sought after.”

According to Macsween, the buyer at Fairway Market chose the month of January to launch.

“Our Scottish Veggie Crumble is just like our domestic vegetarian haggis, which my father created in 1984,” he adds. 

Macsween of Edinburgh plays a small part in the Scottish Food and Drink scene, Macsween notes. “However, Scotland has an enormous ambition to export £30 billion (US$39 billion) worth of food and drink by 2030, and anything we can do to fly the flag for Scotland while diversifying business at the same time can only be a great achievement.”

This is a huge milestone for Macsween to be expanding internationally and leading the way in plant-based food exports.

Macsween has already sent 360 cases of Scottish Veggie Crumble to the US this month and is currently in the process of appointing a sales agent in the US to support its international expansion.

The US remains the top destination for Scottish goods and in the year to September 2019, Scottish goods exports to the country were worth £4.3 billion (US$5.6 billion). This was an increase of 8 percent on the previous year, with food and beverages accounting for 30 percent of exports.

Meanwhile, in the UK, Macsween is the most preferred haggis and vegetarian haggis brand with a 60 percent share of the vegan haggis market, according to a ScotPulse survey in November 2019.

“It’s great to see Macsween enter the US market for the first time, giving Scots in America a taste of home this Burns Night,” adds the UK’s International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss.

With the US being the second-biggest export market for Scotland, a new free trade agreement will make it easier for businesses to sell their goods, which will encourage growth and potentially create jobs for people in Scotland.

In 2017, Macsween made history when it became the first company to export haggis to Canada since 1971, after developing a recipe that met the country’s food safety regulations.

By Elizabeth Green

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