Iconic Fife Brand Opens First Standalone Store

Thursday 29 June 2017

After the overwhelming success of a pop up trial, one of Fife’s best known food producers, Puddledub, is set to launch a new butchery store on Kirkcaldy’s High Street.
 
The traditional store will open on Monday 3 July and will showcase the well known pork farmed by the Mitchell family just four miles away alongside other locally produced meat, as well as cheese from leading cheesemonger IJ Mellis and local artisan breads. 
 
Puddledub is farmed by family team, Tom, Clare and Camilla Mitchell, whose family has farmed at the Auchtertool site for over a hundred years.  The family prides itself on outstanding pig husbandry and animal welfare, maturing slowly to develop a full and distinctive flavour.  The shop will offer a range of products including the famous Puddledub sausage range, which comprises more than 20 varieties; the award-winning Puddledub bacon; grass-fed beef; free-range lamb and chicken; and artisan ham, charcuterie, cooked meats and pies.  The traditional butchers counter will also serve up Scottish veal, local game, venison and water buffalo.  Fresh fruit and vegetables and local breads will be also be available.
 
Puddledub opened a pop up store in Kirkcaldy in April 2017 and the strong results and local support persuaded the Mitchells to open a permanent store, the only one on Kirkcaldy’s High Street.  In an unusual twist, the new store will be housed in premises once run by fast-food giant, McDonalds.
 
Owner and co-founder of Puddledub, Tom Mitchell said:
 
“Opening the pop up at Easter was a fantastic way to see if there was enough demand locally to bring a butcher shop back to Kirkcaldy High Street.  It really exceeded our expectations, which as a local farming business selling our products directly, is a massive boost for us. Puddledub initially grew through farmers markets and the movement by consumers towards local provenance. Opening this shop, allows our customers the convenience of a high street shop but with assured product provenance and traditional methods of preparation.
“We have farmed within a few miles of Kirkcaldy for more than 100 years. In that time, the town's fortunes have chopped and changed in many ways. We are passionate about Fife, provenance and working with those in our community, so this shop is a very interesting venture and we look forward to spending time in Kirkcaldy.”

Bill Harvey, manager at Kirkcaldy 4 All, the town's Business Improvement District, is delighted with the news, saying:
 
“This can only be good for the town, for the businesses involved and for the end customer. If we can demonstrate that Kirkcaldy's High Street is a viable destination for such an established, well respected and much loved brand as Puddledub, we can look to attract more to try the town. If that leads to longer term and larger opportunities, that's a real plus."
 
Puddledub can also be found at farmers markets in Fife, Edinburgh, Angus, Glasgow and Stirling.  They also run a butchery counter at the Dunfermline branch of Dobbies Garden Centres and stocked in selected Scottish retailers.  The new store will add an additional two full time jobs to the existing nineteen staff employed by Puddledub. The business has a turnover of just over £1 million.

Find Puddledub at 207-217 High Street or visit www.puddledub.co.uk for more information or to order online.