Fourth-generation baker is Scotland’s second ‘most chosen’ brand after iconic Irn-Bru

Glasgow-based McGhee’s has made it as a new entrant to the “most chosen” category in the Worldpanel by Numerator’s 2025 Scotland Brand Footprint rankings, placing it second behind iconic soft drink Irn-Bru. The report reveals the ranking of shoppers’ most chosen food and drink brands over the past year, with Graham’s The Family Dairy, Tunnock’s, and Bells accounting for the other top Scottish names.

Among bakery brands, McGhee’s ranks third most chosen in Scotland, behind industry giants Warburtons and Hovis. The Worldpanel by Numerator report highlighted strong sales of soft white rolls and potato scones among the products driving growth at McGhee’s.

In recent years, continued investment in plant, equipment and site expansion has enabled the firm to significantly increase production capacity, helping sales of its signature rolls to triple in volume. Alongside its rolls, customer favourites such as empire biscuits, caramel shortcake, assorted tarts, as well as pineapple and raspberry tarts, continue to see strong demand.

The growth comes as McGhee’s embarks on an ambitious brand refresh ahead of the bakery’s 90th anniversary next year.

Aisling McGhee, commercial director at McGhee’s, said: “We are incredibly proud of our Scottish roots and the role we have played in helping to feed Scotland for four generations. Being included among the most popular Scottish brands - and among the top 20 brands across all categories - is an incredible achievement and testament to the strategy we have put in place in recent years.

“We are extremely proud of the team who have played such an important role in making this happen, and we have more to come - both in Scotland and beyond - built on the significant investments we have made in the business and the fresh new brand we are rolling out ahead of our anniversary in 2026.”

Lesley Ann Gray, strategic insight director at Worldpanel by Numerator, added: “For brands, the chances of finding a place in household cupboards and fridges around the world are as uncertain as a coin toss, with inflation and geopolitical pressures heavily influencing how people shop and which products they choose.

“That does not mean, however, that growth is purely down to chance. Even so, brands should anticipate that next year the odds of growth will decline from an even split (50:50) to something more like 45:55, which means they will need to work even harder to achieve success.”