An ex-McVitie’s director is taking on the biscuit market with his ’real biscuit’ company Tuckey’s.

Simon Tuckey, founder of the brand, has listed his digestives into 146 Sainsbury’s stores, as well as online in Ocado and in Wholefood stores. The biscuits will be in Sainsbury’s for one year, before he will look to sell in other major multiples.

After a collective investment of around £100,000 into production and marketing, the company produces its digestives at Nairn’s oatcakes factory in Edinburgh.

Tuckey, who left United Biscuits 15 years ago, said: “Food shouldn’t be just about price, but also about real taste and satisfaction. 

“At Tuckey’s we believe it is this very blandness that has encouraged people to eat more, not less, as they seek satisfaction through fullness rather than taste.”

Tuckey, the man at the helm, spoke to British Baker about the production process of the Tuckey’s digestives. He said: “We got out history books and the bakery books, and went with sacks of ingredients and played around with the recipes.

“We were lucky, as one of ours investors is Mark Laing, whose great-grandfather invented digestives, so we were able to look in the family archives.”

He was passionate that the classic digestive should be made from simple ingredients such as demerara sugar, butter and molasses.

Tuckey continued: “Tuckey’s is not trying to be retro; we are trying to be the best.

“The food industry is in an interesting phase where people will spend more money on good food - people are looking for value and are prepared to look beyond low price labels into quality products.”

The biscuits are sold at £1.40 on the shelves of Sainsbury’s. 

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