Create a new food and drink experience

8 minute read • Last updated: 25 February 2025

Creating a memorable food experience for customers helps to increase your revenue, enhance your reputation and boost the local economy. They love genuine experiences which tell the story of your business and produce you serve, the local area, and Scotland’s history and culture.

When you go the extra mile to deliver something special, customers will remember it positively, share the word with others and return for more.

The benefits of a food tourism experience

Attract additional revenue
Domestic visitors spent almost £500 million on eating and drinking in Scotland in 2022. By creating a unique and bookable food experience, you can attract additional customers to your business and create revenue which will, in turn, benefit your suppliers.
Boost the local economy
By using local producers, you ensure that money stays within your area. This creates a more sustainable and resilient local system, ensuring food production can continue to grow in your part of Scotland. This can create new opportunities and jobs amongst suppliers, and in the food and drink hospitality and tourism sectors. It also helps to build community pride by showcasing the area’s delights.
Preserve Scotland’s heritage
Food is a central part of any culture. Food tourism helps preserve and promote Scottish culinary traditions, heritage, and regional specialties. It can also educate visitors about Scottish dishes, local produce and the importance of sustainable food practices.
Raise awareness of Scotland’s reputation
Scotland already has a strong world-wide reputation for products such as whisky, but raising awareness of all our quality local produce helps build our status and encourages visitors to come and find out more. We want everyone to know about the:
- variety of local produce
- innovative new dishes
- multi-cultural influences
- fine dining and Michelin star experiences
- street food
- vegan and vegetarian options
Extend the visitor season
Having quality food experiences on offer at all times of the year can help to create opportunities during quieter seasons and reduce demand during peak months. It can also help your businesses to generate income during the quieter months.

Understand the market

People enjoying food on board bus — Dory the Double Decker Bothy Bus

Customers are seeking more immersive experiences, going beyond just sampling local cuisine. They want to learn more about the area and people behind the produce, as well as the local culture and history that influences it.

Popular food experiences include:

visiting local farms and markets
enjoying behind-the-scenes tours of businesses
watching dishes being prepared before sitting down to sample the local cuisine

Consider creating the following:

talk
tour
tasting
class
activity
workshop
festival
trail
pop-up

Customer insights

22% spent on food and drink
The percentage spent on food and drink from the total trip spend of domestic visitors to Scotland.
46% took part in an activity
The percentage of visitors who took part in at least one food and drink activity.
51% find it important
The percentage of American visitors who said experiencing local food was important to them.
26% visit a drink experience
The percentage of visitors who enjoy a drink experience such as a whisky, gin distillery or brewery visit / tour.

Scotland Visitor Survey, 2023

How to get more customer insights

Know your audience
If you want to know more about the role of food and drink in the visitor experience, look at our insights and research studies. The research looks at:
- engagement with food and drink activities
- the importance of locally produced food and drink
- how sustainable tourism impacts food and drink
- opportunities for agritourism businesses
Read the detailed research on food and drink tourism insights.
Understand the customer journey
It’s also helpful to understand the customer journey – how do customers plan and book a trip to Scotland? This includes where they look for inspiration, what type of channels they use, and when they will make a booking.
Find out more about how customers find and book trips.
Review customer feedback
If you’re an existing business, you should have a variety of customer reviews and be able to get feedback from customer-facing staff. Make sure to tell customers how to leave a review to encourage more feedback and ask all your staff for their input, too.
Find out more about managing customer feedback.
Check out the competition
Look at the menus and marketing of other food places that could compete with your business. What kind of experience do they offer? What dishes are they providing, and how much do they charge? Do they tell a story about the local produce they use?
Connect with business support organisations
Scotland Food & Drink support food and drink businesses to achieve their full potential through opportunities for growth. Becoming a member gives you access to opportunities including networking, tradeshows and meet-the-buyer events, as well as market insight data.
You can also find a helpful list of regional food business groups to make connections with farmers, producers, markets, makers and growers.
Find out more about becoming a member of Scotland Food & Drink.

Brainstorm ideas for an experience

Customer being served at bakery — The Scandinavian Bakery

There could be lots of ways to create a new food and drink experience as part of your offering. Get your staff together and gather all the ideas at this stage. It’s worth thinking about:

What is your unique selling point?
How can you be different to other food experiences?
What could make the difference between a good and a great experience?
How can you tell your story within the experience?
Can you take customers behind the scenes?
How can you tell the story of both your area and Scotland more generally as part of the experience?
How can you partner with other businesses to enhance the experience?

Read our food and drink case studies to see the amazing experiences created by other businesses.

Consider the practicalities

Now you have lots of ideas for a new food and drink experience, it’s time to find the right experience to match your business’ resources and capabilities.

Think about:

your existing space and facilities
how long your experience would last to balance interest and comfort
any regulations that will apply to your new experience
whether your current system can take bookings for this experience
any new information you’ll need from customers such as dietary requirements
what information you’d need to provide on your website and online business listings
how you would market the experience across your website, listings and social media
the communications you would send before and after the experience

First steps to develop the experience

Working with others
You may find that your current business doesn’t have all the right facilities or resources to offer this new experience. But there could be a great opportunity here to collaborate with another business – maybe they have the right physical space, or maybe they can provide a storyteller or tour guide to enhance the food experience you are offering. Think about what other local businesses are in your area, and who you could work with to get the right experience delivered in the best way possible. Connecting with your regional food business network is a good way to find other interested businesses.
Could there be other ways for you to work together with other businesses? You might want to cross-sell or cross-promote two experiences, which helps encourage multi-destination visits. This could be:
- accommodation and food and drink
- day out at an attraction and food and drink
- event and food and drink
Check out the package travel regulations if you decide to sell as a package.
Using local produce
Sourcing and using local produce attracts and delights customers, encouraging positive recommendations and repeat business. It can also foster useful partnerships in the community and boost the local economy.
The benefits of using local produce are that it:
- is more sustainable as there are less food miles and processing needed
- is healthier and tastier as its harvested at its peak
- has an authentic story which you can share
Finding local suppliers
If you’re an existing food and drink business, consider your current suppliers. Do you know where each item you use comes from? Could there be a more locally sourced substitute?
New businesses are always popping up, so check regularly for new producers in your area, or new stock at existing businesses. Check with your regional food group or Scotland Food & Drink to find new options.
Think of ways you can collaborate with a supplier beyond simply buying and using the local produce. You could host an event, tour, tasting or class, set up a retail shop, or provide hospitality at an event.

How Mharsanta create bespoke experiences for the travel trade

The Lomond Leisure Group operate bars and restaurants in Glasgow and Edinburgh. They’ve developed tailored and innovative travel trade ready products.

Case study

5 minute read

How Buck & Birch incorporate tourism into their food and drink business

Buck & Birch produce craft Scottish spirits and liqueurs based Macmerry, East Lothian. They develop innovative products focusing on sustainability.

Case study

3 minute read

How Wilson's Farm and Kitchen became a successful agri-tourism business

Wilson’s Farm and Kitchen is in Kelso. It's a working farm offering tours and food experiences thriving through working with the travel trade.

Case study

4 minute read

Braeside of Lindores Farm case study

Braeside of Lindores Farm is situated in Fife. They are a working farm offering luxury accommodation and food experiences.

Case study

4 minute read

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Create a new food and drink experience

The benefits of a food tourism experience

Attract additional revenue

Boost the local economy

Preserve Scotland’s heritage

Raise awareness of Scotland’s reputation

Extend the visitor season

Understand the market

Customer insights

22% spent on food and drink

46% took part in an activity

51% find it important

26% visit a drink experience

How to get more customer insights

Know your audience

Understand the customer journey

Review customer feedback

Check out the competition

Connect with business support organisations

Brainstorm ideas for an experience

Consider the practicalities

First steps to develop the experience

Working with others

Using local produce

Finding local suppliers

Deliver a quality food and drink experience

Related pages

How Mharsanta create bespoke experiences for the travel trade

How Buck & Birch incorporate tourism into their food and drink business

How Wilson's Farm and Kitchen became a successful agri-tourism business

Braeside of Lindores Farm case study

Sign up for the latest advice

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