A family-run business in Fife that specialises in smoked fish has developed some new products that herald the launch of their online shop.
East Neuk Kilnhouse, based in the picturesque village of St Monans, produce an array of seafood products, including their popular hot and cold smoked salmon.
Looking to take their artisan products to a whole new market, the business, which is run by Colin Reekie and Billy Morris, has built a brand new web shop.
And to announce the arrival of the online store, they have introduced some new lines which will certainly whet the appetites of their established customer base and people trying their produce for the first time.
Colin and Billy have more than 70 years’ experience in the fish business between them and their ethos is to stick to time-honoured methods, filleting fish and preparing seafood by hand.
“The Honey Bee”
One of the new products which has been introduced at launch is a nod to the past – honey and rum smoked salmon (Honey Bee KY.214).
The Honey Bee was the steam drifter operated by Colin’s grandfather’s off of St Monans coast many years ago and KY. 214 was the boat’s registration number.
The boat was built in Aberdeen in 1905 and its original owners fished out of Peterhead until Colin’s grandfather (skipper) and his uncle David bought it and co-owned it between them. They fished on it up to 1937 out of St Monans.
In those days they would also chase the winter herring out off Yarmouth and base themselves down there for the winter season.
As a teenager, Colin’s father, William Reekie, helped fish from the Honey Bee until he moved more to the fish merchant side of the industry.
Auld Reekie
Another addition to the range is smoked trout sides and maple and whisky smoked salmon (Auld Reekie), another name chosen to reflect the business’s heritage.
Colin’s son, Calum, explained that launching the online shop gave them a great opportunity to market the new products which proved popular when trialled.
“The way we are producing the salmon is the same except we are infusing it with rum or whisky at the start of the process,” Calum said.
“One will be rum and honey, The Honey Bee KY. 214, with the connection there being my dad’s grandfather who fished off St Monans and The Honey Bee was the name of the boat.
“We are also doing another one infused with whisky and maple syrup that we are calling Auld Reekie, as our name is Reekie and the connection with Scotland and whisky.”
UK-wide
Using the Shopify platform, Calum and the family have been working hard to build an online shop that will help take their products to more people throughout the UK with next day delivery also available.
Calum added: “We have all these amazing products and everyone generally has an online outlet so we have been working hard setting it up. It is easy to use, you just select what you want and drop it in your online basket.
“A lot of people contact us through Instagram asking how to buy and we would just give them the number, but I am not sure if they always followed up.
“This way I can just give them a link or they can pick it up from Instagram where it is also posted and they can go straight from there.
“It will certainly extend our reach. We can deliver to almost the whole of the UK, but we can’t deliver to Northern Ireland and some parts of the Highlands and islands.”
East Neuk Kilnhouse currently produces an assortment box that features all their items and proves popular.
Other boxes added to their online offering include a smoked breakfast box and the opportunity to purchase a box of hot smoked salmon fillets, kippers or mackerel.