Everyone at Errol Sunday Market knows Andreja White.
The Arbroath 26-year-old may have only been in post as the market’s assistant manager for two years, but her history with the “revitalised” trading post at Errol Airfield goes back much further.
“My parents started off as car booters at the market, and I would help out when I was a kid,” explains Andreja.
“Then they progressed to a shop in 2021 [Antinik Vintage] and my mum also has an online jewellers, Amaviti.”
It was her mum Jan’s online store which led to Andreja finding her talent for marketing.
“I’d always enjoyed coding websites and things in my spare time, as a hobby,” she explains. “I did the website and the marketing for mum, and we won eBay’s Be Your Own Boss award in 2022.
“It’s all self-taught, I just discovered this passion for it.”
Morris Leslie took a chance on Andreja
Despite her having no formal qualifications in marketing – “only a history degree from Dundee University” – Errol Sunday Market owner and well-known Perthshire entrepreneur Morris Leslie saw Andreja’s potential and her passion.
“He was looking for someone a bit younger, who had some online skills and a bit of marketing savvy,” Andreja explains. “It just all lined up, and he brought me on as assistant manager.”
So at the age of 24, Andreja took on the task of bringing the real-life institution of Errol Sunday Market into the digital word.
“We had no social media budget,” Andreja laughs. “No consistent social media presence of any kind. We had a Facebook page, but it was barely used, and pretty bland.”
Errol Market traders became social media sensations
Andreja’s vision, along with that of her colleague Fraser Rolley, was to “put a face to Errol Sunday Market” by showcasing the stories of its traders.
“Our strength lies in our traders, we’re very proud of everything they do,” she beams.
“So we now do monthly online interviews with them. We have some fantastic characters, which makes my job very easy.”
Two years on, Andreja’s strategy of following traders’ stories has paid off massively.
“We got allocated a social media budget this time last year, and we’ve seen a really great yield of new customers,” Andreja says proudly.
“Customers are telling me they thought the market had shut down until they saw our posts on their Facebook feed. So clearly it’s working.”
Andreja has also been working hard to attract younger traders to the market after she and Fraser clocked that most of their traders were over 40.
“Back when I started we only had about 8% of traders under 40,” Andreja explains. “That’s now up to about 14%. We even have one permanent trader who is just 16.”
Major award could bring youth event to Errol Sunday Market
And Andreja’s impact on the Errol Sunday Market is being noted beyond the market itself.
She was recently crowned Young Market Champion 2024 at the National Association of British Markets (NABMA) awards.
“It was a total shock,” admits Andreja. “We’re the only Scottish market in attendance, so we’re kind of the last big market standing up here.”
Morris Leslie himself praised the win, saying: “Errol Sunday Market has been running for over 30 years and this award marks a step in a new direction.
“Andreja has been key in our efforts to secure a new, younger demographic of both traders and footfall.”
Now as a result of her industry-wide recognition, the National Market Traders Federation have reached out to Andreja about the possibility of hosting their Young Traders market (a competition for traders under 30) at Errol Sunday Market.
“We’re really keen to do that,” says Andreja.
“We really hope we can pull young people with entrepreneurial aspirations from across Scotland and give them a home – or at least a start.”
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