ONE Vice Chair Stanley Morrice - Innovation, Awards and RHS

You will spot the ONE SeedPod stand before you arrive at it.

Bright pink and impossible to miss, it will sit proudly in the middle of Scotland’s Larder at this year’s Royal Highland Show - a fitting backdrop for some of the most exciting food and drink businesses currently emerging from the north east of Scotland.

This year, ONE is heading to the Royal Highland Show to celebrate the winners of the North East Scotland Food & Drink Awards and to introduce more people to ONE SeedPod: Scotland’s food and drink innovation hub.

Visitors to the stand will be able to meet the award winners, sample products, hear directly from founders and discover how businesses are harnessing ONE SeedPod to move from concept to commercial scale production. It will be a chance to experience the products, ideas and entrepreneurial spirit driving one of Scotland’s most important food and drink regions.

Food, drink and agriculture support more than 22,000 jobs across the north east and account for around 20% of Scotland’s food and drink output. From farming and fishing through to manufacturing, brewing, distilling and product innovation, the region has built a strong reputation for quality — and increasingly for businesses thinking bigger, investing in new products and finding customers well beyond their local markets.

Those are exactly the kinds of businesses ONE SeedPod was created to support.

The hub, which is on the outskirts of Aberdeen is helping food and drink businesses scale production, develop new products, test processes and access technical expertise and business support. It has food-safe manufacturing kitchens, pilot plant and process testing spaces, new product development kitchens available to rent and collaborative working environments designed specifically for growing food and drink businesses.

Over many years working across agriculture, food production and international business, I have seen how important it is to create the right space in the right environment for ambitious businesses to grow. Access to facilities, expertise, collaboration and support makes a real difference.

That thinking sits at the heart of ONE SeedPod. Food and drink entrepreneurs work alongside their peers in a welcoming co-working environment designed to encourage collaboration, practical support and the sharing of ideas. From informal conversations to new commercial partnerships, the space was designed to help businesses grow.

With this year’s RHASS President, Pat Machray, coming from Aberdeenshire, the 2026 Royal Highland Show is the ideal stage to showcase that energy and ambition to a national audience.

It is also why the winners of the 2026 North East Scotland Food & Drink Awards will be showcasing their products on the ONE SeedPod stand in Scotland’s Larder.

Together, the winners reflect a region producing bold products, ambitious founders and increasingly confident brands.

Vanilla Labs, the first tenant at ONE SeedPod, picked up two awards - Best Food Product - Small Business and Innovative Impact - recognising a business combining originality, creativity and commercial ambition.

Joseph Robertson was recognised for Best Food Product - Large Business, while The Bread Guys Bakery earned recognition for Innovative Impact

Brew Toon secured Best Drink Product in the Established Business category for Tanfield Export - a beer that continues to win fans well beyond the north east.

Balmaud Distillery also took home two awards - Best Drink Product - Young Business and Innovation in Agriculture — reflecting a business bringing fresh thinking into one of Scotland’s most iconic sectors.

Finally, A Melvin Henderson secured the award for Innovation in Agriculture, highlighting a business combining traditional farming strengths with a clear commitment to innovation, automation and operational efficiency.

What also stood out this year was the strength of competition.

The judging process was detailed, rigorous and highly competitive, which says a great deal about the standard of businesses and products now coming through across the region. My sincere thanks to all the judges for the considerable time, expertise and care they brought to the process.

The Royal Highland Show gives ONE the opportunity to bring those businesses, products and ideas to a wider audience.

So if you are visiting Scotland’s Larder this year, make a point of finding the big pink stand.

Meet the award winners, hear their stories and discover more about the businesses and the innovation hub helping shape the future of food, drink and agriculture in the north east of Scotland.

Over many years working across agriculture, food production and international business, I have seen how important it is to create the right space in the right environment for ambitious businesses to grow. Access to facilities, expertise, collaboration and support makes a real difference.

That thinking sits at the heart of ONE SeedPod. Food and drink entrepreneurs work alongside their peers in a welcoming co-working environment designed to encourage collaboration, practical support and the sharing of ideas. From informal conversations to new commercial partnerships, the space was designed to help businesses grow.

With this year’s RHASS President, Pat Machray, coming from Aberdeenshire, the 2026 Royal Highland Show is the ideal stage to showcase that energy and ambition to a national audience.

It is also why the winners of the 2026 North East Scotland Food & Drink Awards will be showcasing their products on the ONE SeedPod stand in Scotland’s Larder.

Together, the winners reflect a region producing bold products, ambitious founders and increasingly confident brands.

Vanilla Labs, the first tenant at ONE SeedPod, picked up two awards - Best Food Product - Small Business and Innovative Impact - recognising a business combining originality, creativity and commercial ambition.

Joseph Robertson was recognised for Best Food Product - Large Business, while The Bread Guys Bakery earned recognition for Innovative Impact

Brew Toon secured Best Drink Product in the Established Business category for Tanfield Export - a beer that continues to win fans well beyond the north east.

Balmaud Distillery also took home two awards - Best Drink Product - Young Business and Innovation in Agriculture — reflecting a business bringing fresh thinking into one of Scotland’s most iconic sectors.

Finally, A Melvin Henderson secured the award for Innovation in Agriculture, highlighting a business combining traditional farming strengths with a clear commitment to innovation, automation and operational efficiency.

What also stood out this year was the strength of competition.

The judging process was detailed, rigorous and highly competitive, which says a great deal about the standard of businesses and products now coming through across the region. My sincere thanks to all the judges for the considerable time, expertise and care they brought to the process.

The Royal Highland Show gives ONE the opportunity to bring those businesses, products and ideas to a wider audience.

So if you are visiting Scotland’s Larder this year, make a point of finding the big pink stand.

Meet the award winners, hear their stories and discover more about the businesses and the innovation hub helping shape the future of food, drink and agriculture in the north east of Scotland.