St Andrews Bakery was set up in 2019 by founder and managing director Richard Crabtree, an industry veteran who has held executive and non-executive positions at Mars, McVitie’s and Burtons. He was joined a few years later by co-owner Jim Mosley, a friend of Mr Crabtree’s since their university days at Liverpool. Together they devised a strategic plan to develop a set of products focused on the golf and hospitality sectors. Last month St Andrews Bakery was named as the official snack partner of Scottish Golf, the governing body for the game in this country. Under the three-year agreement, the bakery’s Golf Balls protein snack range will feature at all of this year’s Scottish Golf events, and will also be available to the country’s performance squads. Not really sure why this matters, but Mr Mosley says the deal is “hugely important” for St Andrews Bakery. How did you come to join the business? I was looking to invest in a golf-related business and Richard and I sat down in 2021 to look at ways to develop the brand portfolio we have under St Andrews, which includes St Andrews Biscuit Co, St Andrews Bakery, St Andrews Snacking Co and St Andrews Nutrition. I joined the business in earnest in 2022, and Richard and I are the two main shareholders. We have an office in St Andrews and employ four people directly, and we have other associates and partners with several leading Scottish producers. Where did the idea for Golf Balls come from? As part of the new strategy, we knew we had to develop a product that would have eye-catching impact. The market is flooded with flapjack bars, oat bars, muesli bars and the like, plus the usual suspects under chocolate and crisps. We knew that the modern golfer, both male and female, is looking for something far healthier and nutritious. We’d previously worked closely with Enrico Gusella, executive chef at The Renaissance Club near Gullane. Enrico is responsible for ensuring all players at the Scottish Open receive the right food, nutrition and diet balance. In talking to him and some golf professionals, they all reinforced how protein was a key factor in the modern pro’s requirement. Enrico’s handmade protein balls were also proving popular among the pros at the annual showcase event. So we thought, how could we get a snack that the pros were enjoying out to the wider market and the average weekend golfer? Working with key product developers to create a “moreish” product that was nutritious and better for you than the other mainstream big brands was our intention. The Herald Scottish Golf Survey 2025 is now open, with every club and course in the country invited to submit their views. If your club or organisation has not already received an invitation to take part, please contact kristy.dorsey@newsquest.co.uk. There was also the chance to do something really different, that wasn’t available round the corner in Tesco’s, and would enable golf courses and hotels to demonstrate that they were really giving some proper thought to their member and guest experience. From that, the Golf Balls protein snack was born in March 2024 and the golf ball dimple packaging was a natural component part. We have more high nutrition products coming down the line which will also feature this distinctive look and packaging. How did the partnership with Scottish Golf come about? For a while we’d been looking for somebody who could help us spread the word about our exciting new products, but who at the same time was the right fit. Many creative agencies promise you the world but deliver little, so I thought how about going directly to the governing body itself? After I reached out to David Kernohan at Scottish Golf back in May 2024, we had a fantastic conversation about what might be possible. We trialled the Golf Balls at a couple of events in 2024, including an event at Royal Troon hosting The Open Championship, and they went down a storm. It was clear to us very quickly that their reach and expertise was just what we needed to laser focus our message and marketing. What exactly does the deal entail? We are the Official Snacking partner of Scottish Golf and this year our Golf Balls are the Official Snack of Scottish Golf. We will be supporting Scottish Golf across all 33 of their national Opens and are main sponsors at three of them in particular: The Helen Holm Ladies Open at Royal Troon, the Mens’ Open at North Berwick and the Men’s Amateur at Gullane. We will be supplying over 500 bags of golf balls to players and caddies at each event. We are also working together on website, app, direct mail and other key marketing initiatives to provide loyal Scottish Golf subscribers and users with members reward schemes and discounts. How significant is this partnership for your business? This deal is hugely important for us across many levels. The fit and ‘match up’ with Scottish Golf could not be better. Scotland is the home of golf and golf is a game for all. We are from the Home of Golf in St Andrews so it is genuinely a perfect pairing. It will give us increased brand awareness and profile and regular access into all 565 Scottish Golf clubs, and showcase our products in the hands of some of Scotland’s finest golfers, both male and female. And in particular, due to the quality of the data that David and his team can produce, it will help us understand our audience much better than any agency or Google ad campaign could. We are already seeing a marked uplift in our web site activity and subsequent revenue. Furthermore we have just closed a great piece of business with the St Andrews Links Trust, to supply Golf Balls and mini shortbreads across all of their sites at The Home of Golf. We will also supply the players and caddies at The Open at Royal Portrush and The Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl, and we will again be sending product to The Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club and the PGA Masters event at Trump International. We are also engaged with the R&A to support their key amateur events. What are your aspirations for the coming year? In truth, we have already hit some of our main marketing goals, as outlined above. Supplying The Open, The Scottish Open, The R&A, The Seniors PGA and the St Andrews Links Trust are partnerships we are truly proud of. However, building our distribution and customer base is crucial, and no young business can stand still, so we will continue to strive to build on this. We are looking to further expand across the rest of the UK and Europe and have recently agreed a deal with a German distributor who supplies the vast majority of German golf clubs. Sales have got off to a great start there. Access the entire series of Around the Greens here.
