Helping Scotland's Food and Drink Sector Thrive - News

Supporting the food and drink sector

Holidaymakers are increasingly seeking local flavours and specialities to create a distinct visitor experience.

With the prominence of food tourism, Scottish favourites like whisky, salmon and beef, have created business opportunities for producers of gin, baked goods, cheese, craft beer and chocolate.

We work with the food and drink sector to meet these visitor demands and ensure that visitor spend benefits businesses, jobs and communities across the country.

A coastal café sits on Pennan harbour in Aberdeenshire. Credit Discover Fraserburgh / Damian Shields

Working together with industry partners

Our Sector Development team works with industry leadership organisation, Scotland Food & Drink and other industry partners to understand the latest opportunities and challenges.

Whether navigating competition from other destinations, changing consumer behaviour to becoming more sustainable, this relationship helps the industry adapt and develop.

We have specific sector advice for food and drink businesses on our Business Support Hub which includes a range of case studies demonstrating how this tailored support can help.

By bringing together our expertise in marketing, business support, research, destination development and communications, we help ensure businesses receive the support they need to attract visitors and grow.

Visitors participate in a guided tour at Clydeside Distillery in Glasgow. Credit VisitScotland

Partnership marketing

With demand for food and drink experiences continuing to grow among visitors, these businesses featured prominently in our campaign with Metro Mail Media which ran until spring this year.

The activity reached audiences through titles including Metro, The Mail on Sunday and its supplement YOU Magazine, alongside digital content on DailyMail.co.uk, Metro.co.uk, iNews.co.uk and Apple News.

The autumn and winter campaign 2025-2026 targeted UK travellers and showcased a range of food and drink experiences across Scotland, supporting the spread of visitor spending by highlighting more than 30 businesses across 13 regions.

Featured businesses included Amuse by Kevin Dalgleish in Aberdeenshire, Galloway Distillery in Dumfries & Galloway, The Peat Inn in Fife and Lussa Gin in Argyll and the Isles.

The campaign exceeded its targets for both video views and clicks, with video content proving particularly effective. Post-campaign research also indicated a strong audience response, with more than half of respondents recalling the activity.

Metro Mail Media partnership marketing campaign

21 million

Impressions

4 million

Video views

51, 544

Clicks

52%

Campaign recall

Campaign performance insights

Events

Events are a year-round benefit for driving visits to communities and businesses.

Through our National Events Programme, our support for food and drink events create opportunities for producers, hospitality businesses and destinations, from increased visitor numbers and spending.

Paisley Food and Drink Festival

Running for 11 years now, the Paisley Food and Drink Festival was launched in 2015 to promote local food and drink, support businesses and bring more people into the historic town centre every spring.

The two day-event gives a platform for traders like street food vendors, crafts drinks producers and the destination.

This year's festival generated an economic impact of more than £2.5 million and attracted record visitors, making it our biggest Paisley Food and Drink Festival yet.

The festival showcased 71 traders, including 17 local businesses, providing an excellent platform for producers, food vendors and entrepreneurs to reach new customers and grow their profile.

Beyond the economic benefits, the festival also helps to strengthen community pride and boost Paisley's reputation as a great destination to visit.

Pauline Allan, Events Manager, Renfrewshire Council