Scotland Food & Drink 100: whisky powers £7bn food and drink sector

Scotch whisky producers dominate the Food & Drink 100, generating the sector’s strongest profits and productivity.

Credit: Creative Commons | Credit: Creative Commons

An analysis of the ranking shows that distillers dominate the upper tier of the ranking, generating some of the strongest profits and productivity levels in the sector.

View the full Scotsman Insider Food & Drink 100 ranking >>

Whisky producers operate on a fundamentally different economic model to most food manufacturers.

Premium brands, long maturation cycles and global demand allow distillers to command higher margins than businesses producing everyday food products.

That difference becomes particularly clear when looking at profitability per employee.

Several distillers generate significantly higher profit per head than the majority of food manufacturers in the ranking, highlighting the economic strength of Scotland’s whisky industry.

Graeme Littlejohn, director of strategy and communications at the Scotch Whisky Association said: “Scotch Whisky continues to be a strategically important industry for the Scottish and wider UK economy.

“The global reach of the industry, with £5.4bn exported last year, brings jobs and investment to communities closer to home, and supports a domestic supply chain.

“As one of the most economically productive sectors in the UK, the Scotch Whisky industry should be nurtured and not taken for granted.

“With government support to reduce the tax burden, boost global trade and invest in sustainability, the Scotch Whisky industry can continue to drive economic growth for centuries to come.”

The Scotland Food & Drink 100 shows that while the country’s food industry is diverse, its global reputation and much of its economic strength continue to be driven by Scotch whisky.