History

In 1984, the Scottish Poetry Library was planning its opening ceremony.  A Scottish dish was required – haggis fitted the bill.  Yet, a number of the guests were vegetarian, so a bit of creativity was required.  The Scottish Poetry Library threw down a challenge: could Mr Macsween make a vegetarian haggis?

After countless different recipes were tested on the Macsween family, and many trials with man-made casings, John Macsween finally found a nutty flavour that was destined to please.  It wasn’t until the Vegetarian Society approached Macsweens a few months after the opening, asking when they could expect to see vegetarian haggis available in the shops, that the company seriously looked into developing what has now become a much-emulated favourite into a commercial product.

2009 sees 25 years of the vegetarian haggis, a product that now accounts for one quarter of all Macsween sales!  Our nutty, meat-free alternative to Scotland’s national dish is now sold throughout the UK and Europe in major supermarket chains, independents and specialist food shops, and wholesalers.