Island Bakery first began as a bread bakery in 1994, when recently graduate Joe Reade and his girlfriend, Dawn set up business in Joe’s brother’s garage in Tobermory on the Scottish Isle of Mull. Over the years Island Bakery evolved to a fully stocked bakery and delicatessen shop on Tobermory’s harbour colourful front. Business was going well, but a huge challenge was the seasonality of trade. We wanted to do something that could balance out the seasonal fluctuations, and we thought that the best way to do that would be to launch a range of biscuits that could travel off the island and that would have a long enough shelf life to reach customers beyond our island base. In 2001 we began to make a small range of organic sweet biscuits which soon won several Great Taste awards. The Chocolate Gingers scooped an Organic Food award, while Lemon Melts were quickly established as the customers’ favourite and best seller. As a certified organic producer, all our ingredients are fully traceable back to the farms they come from. Organic production is important to us as it ensures high quality food, no genetically modified ingredients, no pesticides or artificial fertilizer residues, no routine use of antibiotics, and high standards of animal welfare. Food produced organically is less intensively produced and it also contributes to a richer diversity in farm ecosystems. Being organic is just one element of the company ethos of being as environmentally sensitive as possible. Being on a west coast island brings a steady supply of wet and windy weather which can be used to generate energy! In 2012 we moved into a purpose-built new factory with a wood powered oven, and local renewable electricity. We now employ around 35 staff who produce over 20 products.