How Duncan's Farms set out on its margin-winning growth journey

More than 60 per cent of its free-range egg production comes from its own farming operations, with the remainder produced by a select group of Scottish partner producers.

The company has built long-term private label supply partnerships with major UK retailers including Lidl, Marks & Spencer and Morrisons. Its own Duncan’s Eggs brand has also grown significantly.

The egg business, owned by Rachael Duncan, works closely with its associated arable business, A J Duncan, owned by her father, Fred Duncan. Between them, the businesses farm around 7,000 acres of arable land, much of it producing the cereals for the hens’ feed.

Rachael Duncan reflects on a year of successes, and challenges, and tells us why Scotland’s agricultural sector demands continued government attention.

How has the past year panned out for the firm?

I think the biggest success has been the continued growth of the business while maintaining the standards and values that we built it around.

We have continued to strengthen our relationships with our retail customers, while also seeing really encouraging growth in Duncan’s Eggs. We have secured some great new retailer listings, which means the brand is reaching more Scottish consumers.

I’m also particularly proud that we were able to support the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as the Official Egg Provider to Glasgow 2026 and Team Scotland. We supplied more than 150,000 eggs to venues across Glasgow during the Games. That was a brilliant opportunity to have our brand at the heart of a major international sporting event, and, of course, eggs are a pretty good fit when you’re feeding athletes.

Where do the greatest opportunities lie?

For us, the biggest opportunity is the continued growth in demand for free-range eggs. Eggs are a natural, nutritious source of protein and an important part of a healthy diet, and we believe there is still significant opportunity to grow the category.

Consumers are also increasingly interested in where their food comes from and how it has been produced. That creates a real opportunity for a business like ours because we can tell that story through the way we operate.

We have also invested in making traceability accessible to consumers. Duncan’s Eggs has an online egg tracker which allows people to trace their eggs back to the farm they came from. That gives consumers something tangible rather than simply asking them to take our word for it.

From a retailer perspective, having more than 60 per cent of our production within our own farming operations is unusual at our scale. It gives us greater control and visibility across the supply chain, as well as the ability to respond quickly to customers, offer flexibility and deliver consistently on quality.

I think there is a real opportunity for Scottish agriculture to capture more value from that combination of provenance, quality and production standards. We have fantastic natural assets and very high standards of production in Scotland, and we should be confident about what we can produce here and the story we can tell about it.

What are the greatest challenges for your sector?

One of the biggest challenges is the tension between what consumers quite reasonably want from their food and what they are prepared, or able, to pay for it.

Consumers increasingly want high-quality food, full traceability, excellent animal welfare and strong environmental standards. We absolutely support that, but delivering those things requires continual investment. At the same time, there is understandably pressure across the food system to keep prices competitive and limit inflation. That is a challenge for farmers and food producers across the industry.

People are another important part of the future of agriculture and food production, but I see that as an opportunity as much as a challenge. We have a fantastic team at Duncan Farms, with some very experienced people who have been with us for many years, alongside an exciting group of younger people coming through the business.

As the business continues to grow, bringing through the next generation will be increasingly important to us.

What single measure could the government take to help Scotland’s agricultural industry?

I would put food security much higher up the agenda. We need to recognise food production as strategically important infrastructure. If we want a resilient food system, we need a strong farming and food production industry here in Scotland and across the UK.

A key part of that is creating a level playing field. Scottish farmers and food producers are expected to meet very high standards around animal welfare, food safety and environmental management. That is something we should be proud of, but imported food competing directly with domestic production should be produced to equivalent standards.

Farmers also contribute far more than the food they produce. We manage landscapes, support biodiversity, maintain rural communities and keep land productive. Government has an important role in recognising that contribution, while also ensuring regulation is practical, proportionate and doesn't unnecessarily burden the businesses that are producing our food.

Your aims over the next year?

We will continue to grow our free-range production in close alignment with our retail partners. We have long-term partnerships with our customers, and developing and strengthening those relationships is an ongoing focus for us. We want to understand where they are heading, what their customers want and how we can continue to innovate and grow alongside them.

At the same time, we see significant potential for Duncan’s Eggs. We want to continue developing the brand, increasing its availability across Scotland and introducing it to more consumers. For us, that is about building a strong Scottish brand with a clear proposition around provenance, quality and traceability, rather than simply increasing distribution.

We will continue investing across every step of our supply chain, building capacity, improving efficiency and reducing the environmental impact of our operations.

Reducing its environmental footprint

The firm has taken a number of important steps to minimise its environmental footprint, with sustainability seen as part of the whole production system rather than as a single project, asserts Rachael Duncan.

“Feed is one of the biggest contributors to the carbon footprint of egg production, so we have invested significant time in developing lower-carbon diets while maintaining the nutrition and welfare of our birds,” she says. “Some of the diets we have developed have reduced the carbon attributed to eggs by up to 50 per cent.

“Our operations are also integrated with renewable energy solutions including solar, wind and biomass. All our free-range sites are integrated with solar panels. These currently provide around 50 per cent of the electricity requirements at those sites, with an ambition over time for all our free-range farms to become self-sufficient in electricity.

“Biodiversity is equally important,” Duncan adds. “We have planted around 20 kilometres of hedgerows and 85,000 trees across our farms and hen ranges, as well as establishing wildflower areas to create and improve habitats.

“Because we are so integrated, we can look at the environmental impact across the whole system. There is always more to do, but we see sustainability as a long-term investment.”

How Duncan Farms has diversified

Duncan Farms’ diversification from arable farming into egg production, creating the “field-to-fork” operation it runs today has involved considerable investment.

Rachael Duncan says that over the past 24 months, Duncan Farms has invested in excess of £18 million, including £6.6m in new free-range farms, more than £7m in its packing centre, including a new grader and robotics, and a further £5m in a new rearing farm and feed storage facilities.

“That investment has been about building the capacity we need for the next stage of growth while maintaining the level of control, quality, welfare and traceability that is central to our business”, she says.

“We have taken a long-term approach to funding the growth of the business, consistently reinvesting in our farms, infrastructure and people. We are ambitious about where Duncan Farms can go, but we want to make sure that growth is properly supported and sustainable for the long term.”