Its farthest-flung customer used to be Peter Pan author Sir JM Barrie’s sweet-toothed canary in London.
But now a Kirriemuir sweet shop which first opened its doors 186 years ago is gearing up for global sales after setting up an online shop.
Star Rock owner Liz Crossley-Davies said its most famous sweetie has been sent out across the UK since online sales started and enquiries are now coming in from America, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.
“I think it would be incredibly naive of me to rely upon traditional sales methods – for tourists and visitors to find out about the the shop, assume they will visit, and buy in the same numbers as years of old,” she said.
“The shop is the oldest in Scotland and has survived until now, however, consumer spending, shopping habits and expectation have changed considerably in recent years and I need to ensure the continued longevity of the shop by moving with that change.
“The website has only just begun – along with the Star Rock products there are also about 60 other sweets currently listed and at least another 250 to be added.
“It will continue to grow – hopefully appealing to more people, further afield, spreading the word.”
Sir JM Barrie grew up visiting the shop and later, after moving to London, he took ‘Starry Rock’ back to his canary in his flat at the Aldelphi.
Connections to Barrie continue in the shop through images of Peter Pan that date from before he gifted rights to Great Ormond Street. The penny collection tin is for Great Ormond Street, with around £45 being donated every four or five months.
The Star Rock Shop was established in 1833 by David Ferguson.
Originally a mason from Brechin, he changed direction, due to an accident which impaired his eyesight, and created the sweet ‘Star Rock’ in his kitchen.
The shop and its most famous sweetie have barely changed.
Liz said: “When I first looked into purchasing the shop at the beginning of 2018, the scope to expand the business in a number of ways, particularly online, was one of the determining factors.
“There has been a nice steady stream of orders coming into the shop via web order in the last three weeks since launch – particularly the London area, a number to Edinburgh and the Borders too.
“More surprisingly, a number of fairly local orders, which I really think is internet shopping serving its purpose – convenience and accessibility to suit the consumer.
“Outwith the UK – there have been enquiries for pricing to send products to Australia, Dubai and Texas.
“These are added to the many enquiries received from other parts of the world in the last 10 months since I took over.”
Liz said the products the shop makes will also develop and she has a number of new sweets on the “invention list”.
“I’m in no hurry, there is plenty of time to slowly build up, being careful to preserve all that has been built in the last 186 years.
“The smell of the rock is in the walls of the building and it is hard to imagine it not looking exactly the same as it does now when it turns 200 years old.”
