Thurso-based bakery Reids of Caithness has secured two potentially lucrative export orders for its range of biscuits and oatcakes with wholesalers in Singapore and the US.

The company signed the deals after exhibiting at the Speciality & Fine Food show in Glasgow in January and has already started shipping products. These include treacle toffee biscuits, honey and oat biscuits, butter shortbread, oatcakes and mini oatcakes called Groaties, all of which were launched under the Reids brand in 2009. The products will eventually be sold by independent retailers in the US, and in food halls in Singapore, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

"There is strong demand internationally for Scottish food, particularly bakery items," said director Gary Reid, who runs the business with his brother Graeme. "There are a lot of big players in the [Scottish bakery export] market, but buyers are realising that there are other good products out there. The buyers said they looked at a lot of different Scottish baked goods, but were blown away by the quality of our products."

To help meet the new orders, Reids may extend its production area. "Currently exports make up around 5% of our sales, but we hope to increase that significantly in the coming years," said Reid.