Maker Profile: The Modern Jam-My-Ster—How Small Producers Turn a Kitchen Hobby into Global Sales

From One Pot on the Stove to Shelves Around the World: A Shetland Maker's Journey

Struggling to find authentic, Shetland-made goods online — and tired of jars that say "artisan" but were made hundreds of miles away? You’re not alone. Many shoppers want provenance, sustainable sourcing, and a story they can taste. This profile follows Eilidh MacKay, founder of Shetland Sea & Shore Preserves, and shows how a kitchen hobby became a global small-business success while keeping craft values front and center.

The hook: why this story matters now

In 2026 shoppers expect transparency and sustainability. But they also want convenience and clarity on shipping and provenance. Eilidh’s story answers those needs: she turned late-night test batches into a business that supplies island shops, Scottish delicatessens, and international specialty food stores — without losing the island character that customers value.

The origin: experiments, island ingredients, and a community table

Eilidh started making preserves in 2016 as a way to use surplus raspberries from her mother’s croft. She experimented with small-batch techniques — low-sugar sets, foraged coastal ingredients, and sea-salt caramel chutneys inspired by Shetland's shoreline. Early sales were at craft fairs and the local village shop. What began as jars given to neighbors built the first set of honest product tests.

"The first jar that sold out was a rhubarb and sea-salt marmalade. Someone wrote a little note and asked if it was all made in our kitchen. That question — is this really Shetland? — reshaped everything." — Eilidh MacKay

Why the Shetland provenance matters (and how Eilidh protects it)

Customers buying small-batch food want to know two things: where the ingredients come from and who made them. Eilidh built those answers into the product experience.

• Ingredient traceability: Eilidh partners with three local crofters for berries and two foraged-ingredient experts who map harvest locations each season.
• Visible craft: Every jar carries a batch number and a short producer note describing that season’s harvest conditions.
• Community sourcing: Seasonal surplus is paid at local market rates so the economic benefits stay on the islands.

Scaling responsibly: the practical production journey

Scaling artisanal food is not simply making more of the same. It requires systems — not to replace craft, but to protect it. Eilidh's path mirrors lessons seen across successful food makers in 2024–2026: start with the craft, then layer in compliance, quality control, and systems that preserve flavour consistency.

Phase 1 — Systemise recipes

Action taken: Eilidh documented every test batch, converting sensory notes into measurable recipe steps (weight, pH target, cook-time ranges). This made it possible to reproduce favourites and train helpers.

Phase 2 — Move to a certified kitchen

Action taken: Within two years she moved from the household kitchen to a rented commercial unit that met the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) commercial requirements and adopted HACCP principles. That transition opened wholesale doors and ensured compliance for exporting.

Phase 3 — Small-scale automation and batch scaling

Action taken: Rather than immediately buying industrial lines, she introduced a 100-litre copper kettle, a vacuum-filler for consistent jar fills, and stainless-steel holding tanks. This preserved hand-finish steps (labeling, tasting, hand-sealing) while increasing output from a few dozen to several thousand jars per month.

Phase 4 — Quality, lab testing, and shelf life

Action taken: A local food lab performed pH and water activity tests to confirm shelf stability for low-sugar recipes — a crucial step when moving off the kitchen table. Clear best-before dates, allergen declarations, and storage instructions followed.

Operations playbook — the checklist Eilidh uses (you can too)

1. Document recipes: Convert sensory language into weights, temperatures, pH targets, and timings. See operational checklists in the Advanced Ops Playbook.
2. Create a simple HACCP plan: Identify critical control points — cooking temperature, fill temperature, cooling time.
3. Source local suppliers: Sign seasonal MOUs with crofters and foragers to secure predictable supply.
4. Perform lab tests: pH, water activity, and microbiological checks for new recipes.
5. Standardise packaging: Use tamper-evident lids, clear ingredient panels, and a consistent label format — packaging choices matter for sustainability and presentation (packaging & seller toolkits).
6. Set pricing for wholesale: Aim for 2.2–2.6x retail cost as a starting wholesale multiplier; refine with margin analysis.
7. Plan capacity: Know your monthly maximum production in jars and hire seasonal help accordingly.

Marketing and brand storytelling in 2026: how Eilidh reached global buyers

By 2024 the direct-to-consumer boom had matured into a new set of expectations: buyers wanted authenticity but also convenience and discovery. Eilidh adopted a layered approach.

1. Tight local network

She started by supplying island cafés and the visitor centre. Those local stockists acted as living proof of provenance and built social content — an important dynamic for island tourism and cottage stays (coastal cottage listings and guest expectations).

2. Wholesale partnerships

Small Scottish delicatessens and boutique grocers bought seasonal runs. Eilidh created wholesale kits — sample tins, a product sheet, and a small story card about Shetland — to help retailers present her preserves as a destination product. These tactics reflect how boutique shops win with live commerce APIs and curated wholesale playbooks.

3. DTC and subscription

In 2025 she launched a subscription box: four seasonal jars delivered twice a year, with pairing notes and a short audio story about the crop. Subscription retention levers in 2026 include limited-run collaboration jars and loyalty discounts tied to repeat billing.

4. Digital discovery and verified provenance

To cut through marketplace noise she used high-quality photography, clear origin statements, and batch-level stories. In 2026 shoppers expect a provenance trail — Eilidh added QR codes to labels linking to a harvest map and a 90-second maker video.

Operations beyond the jar: packaging, shipping and sustainability

Two of the most common buyer pain points are shipping costs and ecological impact. Eilidh tackled both with practical decisions that preserved margins and satisfied conscientious buyers.

• Packaging choices: Recycled glass jars, kraft boxes with molded pulp inserts, and water-based inks reduced weight and landfill impact.
• Logistics strategy: For UK and EU orders she uses a consolidation model: weekly pallets to a mainland fulfilment partner to reduce per-item shipping costs and simplify customs paperwork. This mirrors field guides for running weekend and market pop-ups (pop-up & fulfilment playbooks).
• Carbon transparency: Since late 2025 demand for carbon labeling rose, Eilidh started publishing an estimated carbon footprint per jar and offered a small offset for international shipments — a move that aligns with coastal-resilience and carbon-conscious travel trends (coastal cottage climate resilience).

Financial and growth strategies for the small producer

Scaling a craft business sustainably is about margins, predictable demand, and smart investment. Eilidh's financial playbook is simple and replicable:

1. Keep fixed costs lean — use shared commercial kitchen time where possible during early scaling.
2. Price for premium — preserve margin for seasonal ingredients and artisan processes.
3. Use wholesale as discovery — small trial orders to shops create brand visibility without large sales overhead.
4. Reinvest in capacity — prioritize equipment that improves consistency (scale, filler) over pure volume lines.

2026 trends that changed her playbook (and what to watch next)

Several late-2025 and early-2026 developments shaped Eilidh's strategy. Knowing these trends helps other makers decide where to focus energy.

• Provenance-first consumer behaviour: Buyers increasingly expect batch-level stories. QR traceability and short maker films turned from optional to essential.
• Reduced-sugar and functional preserves: The health-oriented consumer wave pushed small producers to invest in pH technicals and natural-set techniques to maintain shelf life in lower-sugar products.
• Logistics consolidation: As shipping costs rose in 2023–24, 2025 saw more small exporters using regional fulfilment hubs to lower per-order blends for cross-border shoppers.
• Regulatory clarity for micro-exporters: Policy simplifications in late 2025 reduced paperwork for small UK food exporters to EU markets, opening new wholesale opportunity for island brands.
• Technology adoption: Affordable ERP-lite tools and AI demand-forecasting apps became common for planning seasonal inventory and reducing waste.

Real-world lessons: three hard-won takeaways from Eilidh

She’s proud of the jars — and the work it took to make them sustainable. Here are three practical lessons she shares for makers who want to scale without losing craft.

1. Document relentlessly. If it’s not written down, it’s not repeatable. Recipes, cleaning procedures, supplier contacts — put them in a single digital binder and back it up.
2. Test before you commit. Do shelf-life and pH tests before you amplify production. A recipe that’s stable at 2-litre scale can fail at 100 litres without proper adjustments.
3. Keep story and craft visible. Automation can speed production but keep at least one human touch — hand-applied labels, a maker’s note, or seasonal decoration — to preserve the emotional connection with buyers.

How communities and local economies benefit

Scaling local foodmakers like Eilidh’s isn't just a personal success story — it’s economic development for the islands. By sourcing locally, paying fair prices to crofters, and creating tourism-driven sales, these makers keep more money on Shetland while promoting the islands abroad.

Community wins include:

• Seasonal employment for harvest workers.
• Ancillary business for label printers, jar suppliers, and logistics partners.
• Increased footfall for island shops that stock genuine Shetland-made products.

Practical resource list — what to budget for when scaling

Below is a short checklist of likely costs and steps. This isn't exhaustive but gives realistic starting points for planning a small-batch preserve business in 2026.

• Commercial kitchen rent / shared kitchen membership
• Equipment: 50–200 litre kettle, filler, pH meter, scales
• Lab testing for shelf-life and pH (per recipe)
• Packaging: jars, lids, labels, shipping cartons
• Insurance: product liability and business insurance
• Compliance: HACCP consultancy and food hygiene course costs
• Logistics: pallet consolidation and fulfilment partner fees

Where to start tomorrow: a 30-day action plan

If you have a kitchen hobby and want to start scaling, Eilidh suggests this 30-day plan as a pragmatic launchpad.

1. Week 1: Document three best recipes with weights and pH goals. Order a calibrated pH meter.
2. Week 2: Talk to a local shared kitchen and schedule a test day. Call one potential local supplier.
3. Week 3: Get basic HACCP training for yourself and one helper. Draft a simple ingredient traceability form.
4. Week 4: Make 20 jars to label and photograph. Reach out to two local shops to offer samples.

Final reflections: balancing craft and growth in 2026

Eilidh's story is both practical and hopeful. The island spirit — respect for place, seasonality, and hands-on making — can survive scaling. It requires careful choices: investing early in quality control, protecting provenance, and using smart logistics to keep prices competitive for global shoppers.

"Scaling isn't betraying the craft — it's creating more room for it. When more people buy our jars, more crofters get paid, and more stories about Shetland travel beyond the island. That’s the real win." — Eilidh MacKay

Actionable takeaways

• Start with documentation — recipes and HACCP plans are non-negotiable.
• Invest in repeatability — a small kettle and a filler go further than chasing volume early on.
• Tell the provenance story — batch numbers, QR codes, and harvest maps lift trust and conversions.
• Use fulfilment wisely — consolidation and regional partners reduce international shipping pain.

Call to action

If Eilidh's journey inspires you, explore our Shetland Makers collection to taste real island provenance. Sign up for behind-the-scenes updates and a quarterly makers’ box that features limited runs, batch stories, and priority shipping. Support local craft — and bring a piece of Shetland home.

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