The pie’s the limit in Perthshire

The addition of an instore bakery at a village store in Perthshire has seen a dramatic growth in sales despite initial reservations by the owner to give it a go.

Zubair Aslam, who runs the Nisa Local in Dunning, was unsure the concept would work in the small rural location, but weekly pie sales alone are now exceeding £1,000.

“We have fresh cream cakes, hot and cold pies – I just thought we’d give it a go. Now, we make about £1,200 a week on pies alone. Lunchtime sales have been great, with people getting a bite to eat.

“At first I was thinking that to get £1,000 a month for sale or return I might struggle, but we were offered a six-month trial, so I gave it a go and now we make an average £1,600 a week.”

The 2,000 sq.ft. store is situated in the centre of the village and is the only shop many locals use with many doing their entire weekly shop there, spending upwards of £70 and £80 in store.

Fresh food is among the best sellers and Zubair has extended the store several times to accommodate the growing demand.

The most recent extension a year ago saw sales increase by 11 per cent, much of which has been through fresh lines, said Zubair. And a new two-metre fresh chiller is about to be added to the store for even more fresh lines.

“I’ll have more fruit and veg, and we want to have more Co-op lines, as they have a lot of fresh produce available,” said Zubair.