A biscuit empire launched in village kitchen - how Granny Betty's shortbread became a Lidl favourite

dailyrecord.co.uk:

WHEN Betty Duncan began making shortbread in her kitchen for family and friends, she never imagined her hobby would one day become a booming business.That was 35 years ago, and today Duncan’s of Deeside supplies Deluxe Shortbread to Lidl stores across the whole of the UK.With her grandson Paul now at the helm, Betty’s delicious family recipe is responsible for feeding the nation’s shortbread addiction, especially at this time of year.Paul is the third generation to take over the family firm and he is delighted to continue what his grandmother started.“Granny Betty was a fantastic cook and loved making the biscuits, but she never set out to sell her shortbread,” he says.The family lived in the tiny village of Finzean in Royal Deeside and, in the small community, word got out about Betty’s delicious shortbread.Having been widowed at a young age, for Betty money was tight, but once she succumbed to demand and began providing the village shop with little bags of six biscuits, her fortunes began to change…Soon, the next village shop requested her melt-in-the-mouth shortbread, and then one after that – and the business, through word of mouth, naturally grew.“My granny just loved baking, but she didn’t have business knowledge, so that’s when Mum and Dad stepped in to help her,” explains Paul.His parents Dawn and Leonard oversaw the company growth as demand for the family shortbread continued, eventually coming to the attention of Lidl.“It’s a partnership, and Lidl is very nice to work with.

The company knows what’s important to us and is supportive of our family brand,” says Paul.Betty’s original recipe used margarine – which was much cheaper than butter – as well as flour, sugar and cornflour, but as the business grew, a more