Mackie's - The Story of Crispinspiration

Mackie's crisps are the creation of an award winning family business and have been an integral part of Scottish potato farming over the years. With a wide range of flavours available, including a ScotlandShop favourite Haggis & Cracked Black Pepper, Mackie's crisps are now located in 25+ countries around the world.

Did you know that Mackie's even operate in Japan, which is also their biggest export market? You can explore more of their wonderful flavours here and decide on your personal favourite!

Have you ever wondered what the process of making crisps involves? Then look no further! Mackie's crisps are made with naturally grown potatoes, cooked gently in High Oleic sunflower oil (if, like me, you're not too familiar with your cooking oils, you can find out more information here and this one is a trans free oil so better for you). The "plough to pack" process which Mackie's crisps adopts gives their crisps a unique taste, different from anything else on the market. From the original potato farming, Mackie's crisps are now located in all the major retailers here in Scotland. If you are further afield, their product is stocked by wholesalers and can be found in select supermarkets worldwide.

Mackie's crisps are great on their own but they also go really well with other foods. You can check out their wonderful ideas on how to liven up snack/meal time over on their website. Whether you're looking for the perfect Haggis, Neeps and Tattie recipe for Burns Night, or a Crisp-topped Macaroni Cheese - discover their wide range of unique recipes now. Personally I love the crispy coated haggis bon bons, yummy!

We recently filmed something very exciting at ScotlandShop HQ. Ahead of Burns Night celebrations later this month, Mackie's were kind enough to send us a box of their different flavours so we could discover our favourites. Our panel, which included myself, Anna and Amy (you can find out more about the team here) certainly had different opinions on different flavours. Personally, I was a big fan of Sea Salt & Vinegar and I'm sure Anna very much agreed with me on that one! Amy on the other hand much preferred Mature Cheddar & Onion. None of us quite fancied the Scotch Bonnet Chilli Pepper though, which actually had a heat rating of 100,000-350,00 Scoville units which is way more than jalapenos. Wow it was spicy! We'll leave you to try that one and let us know what you think... Make sure you keep an eye out on our social channels for the Taste Test video and let us know whether you agree with our ratings or not.

A perfect nibble for an aperitif, crisps are not often thought of as a pairing ingredient for Whisky. But why not take the challenge and seek out matching tastes to accompany Mackie's wide range of crisp flavours. This month we celebrate Burns Night and if you fancy a bit of variation when it comes to your food and drink options, then Mackie's crisps and Whisky might just be the perfect combination for you!

Have you ever wondered how you can be more environmentally friendly with your used crisp packets? The Mackie's Crisps factory in Errol is a crisp packet recycling point. The scheme was set up in 2019, alongside Walkers Crisps and the recycling company, TerraCycle. You can find out more about the recycling scheme here and also find out where your nearest drop off point is. Your crisp packets could be turned into anything from plant pots to park benches!

If you're familiar with the various flavours that Mackie's offer, then you might just have noticed the Taylor tartan on the packet of Haggis, Neeps & Tatties flavour. The surname Taylor (also seen as Tayler or Tayleur) is of an occupational origin, coming from the word "tailor", meaning a cutter of cloth. The word "tailor" has roots in old French, from the word tailler meaning "to cut". There are also a variety of Taylor tartans you can find on the ScotlandShop tartan finder, specifically Taylor Ancient and Taylor Weathered.