They say the best businesses are born out of necessity, and for Allan Ferguson there are no truer words.
His chilli brand started 14 years ago in his own kitchen when he found himself in need of chilli jelly for a recipe he was making.
Living in a small rural village Allan knew it would be tricky to get his hands on some, so instead, he decided to make his own.
Allan quickly shared his invention with friends, offering them his chilli sauce as a dip to have with some crips when they visited him, and they encouraged him to make more of the delicious sauce to sell.
Inspired, Allan went out and bought six jars to fill and sell to the local shop and the rest, as they say, is history.
‘I was cooking in the kitchen one day I and the recipe needed chilli jelly,’ Allan said.
‘I wondered where I could buy some, but as we live in a very small rural village I couldn’t buy any, so I decided to make some myself.
‘Then I thought I could sell this. I then went to visit some deli shops and it progressed from there.’
Allan makes his chilli products from his home in Abernethy, Perthshire, with the help of his wife, Joan, and her mother, Betty.
He had no experience in the food industry when he decided to take the plunge into making chilli products, having been a joiner to trade, and the drastic change in direction certainly came as a surprise to wife Joan.
‘I worked in the building trade as a joiner before we created our business, so this was such a different venture for us,’ he said.
‘We are very passionate about what we have achieved over the years and have also and have also won multiple awards.’
Over the years the trio has carefully honed their recipes, made using local ingredients, and now Allan’s Chilli Products include sauces, jellies, chutneys, oatcakes and even chilli tablet.
The fruit used in their products are all hand picked and Allan prides himself on having no ‘nasties’ in their products.
His line is sold around Scotland and in some of the country’s biggest hotels like Gleneagles where Allan’s pear chilli jelly is used in their Margarita Cocktail.
Read more Producer’s Corner here.
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