The Kandy Bar Bakery has moved beyond McAllister family ownership for the first time since the Scottish craft bakery was established 97 years ago.
Craig and Lesley McPhie have taken responsibility for the north Ayrshire business as Stephen and Rona McAllister retire. The couple will lead the next chapter of the Saltcoats-based bakery while maintaining its long-standing reputation for quality products and service.
The company’s name reflects its origins as a small sweet shop in Saltcoats, which also sold Scotch pies. Third-generation baker Stephen McAllister and his wife Rona assumed control in 1991. During their tenure, the business expanded considerably and now operates four retail stores, alongside a deli and café.
Kandy Bar produces a broad selection of savoury and sweet bakery goods from its primary site on Hamilton Street in Saltcoats. Its range includes sausage rolls, pasties, bridies, morning rolls and tattie scones, as well as fruit tarts, Empire biscuits, doughnuts, cakes and buns.
The bakery has earned numerous industry honours. Its most successful year came in 2016, when it was named Scottish Baker of the Year and also won the World Scotch Pie Championship.
“After more than fifty wonderful years, the time has come for Rona and I to step back and enjoy our retirement,” commented Stephen McAllister. “Finding the right people to continue the bakery’s story was one of the most important decisions we have ever had to make. From the moment we met Craig and Lesley McPhie, we recognised that they shared our values, our passion for quality and our commitment to looking after both our staff and our customers.”
Craig McPhie joins The Kandy Bar as managing director with more than four decades of experience in the food manufacturing industry. A qualified master baker and confectioner, he spent many years running McPhie’s Craft Bakers in Glasgow, the company founded by his father, Jim, in 1978.
His career also includes senior commercial and governance positions. McPhie previously served as director of business development at Pars Foods, chairman of Bako Northern and president of Scottish Bakers, following his father into the latter role. In 2018, he became a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Bakers.
His background gives the bakery experienced leadership as it responds to changing food and beverage industry trends, food manufacturing trends and food and drink consumer trends. It also provides a strong foundation for evaluating food processing technology, food distribution trends and food and drink industry innovation while preserving the craft methods that underpin the brand.
“We have not simply acquired a bakery. We have accepted responsibility for a business that generations of customers, dedicated staff and the McAllister family have built over almost a century,” said McPhie. “We see ourselves as custodians of that legacy, and it is both an honour and a privilege to continue that story.
“From day one, our commitment is to preserve everything that customers have come to value while supporting the talented team whose dedication has made Kandy Bar Bakery what it is today,” added the new owner, noting that any investment would be made “carefully and respectfully”.
The new ownership will also operate within a wider business environment shaped by food and drink sustainability priorities, evolving food and drink regulations, and growing expectations around food and drink packaging and food and drink marketing. For Kandy Bar, however, continuity remains central as the business moves forward.
The end of McAllister family ownership follows a similar transition at Northern Irish manufacturer Irwin’s, which was recently sold to local businessman Sam Rusk.
