One of America’s most beloved Scottish brands wowed New Yorkers, on Saturday 6 April 2024 at the annual Tartan Week celebrations in New York City, with a miniature shortbread replica of the Empire State Building. Every April, a wave of tartan sweeps through New York, as the city that never sleeps celebrates Tartan Day and its cultural ties to Scotland. To celebrate the culmination of this year’s event Walker’s Shortbread recreated the iconic 102-storey Empire State Building using 527 pieces of its famous shortbread fingers. The replica, which was built by UK food artist, Prudence Staite, and was transported to the heart of Tartan Day celebrations. The wee Empire State Building was available to visit at Pre-Parade Registration, at the Algonquin Hotel in Times Square.
The miniature Empire State Building is a fitting tribute from Walker’s, which has long-standing ties with the USA. The USA was the brand’s first export market in 1976 and home to Walker’s first international office, and the family-owned business has now been sharing the joy of shortbread with Americans for almost 50 years. The country is still Walker’s biggest export market, with record sales recorded in 2023 and over 50 million pieces of Walker’s best-selling Shortbread Fingers are enjoyed across all 50 states every year.
A proud Scottish brand
Alastair Walker, Head of International Sales at Walker’s Shortbread said: “Walker’s is a proud Scottish brand, however we always try to create a sense of place through our products in the close to 100 international markets that we export to. What is so important to us is that we celebrate our own heritage while also nodding to the cultures and traditions of the markets in which we’re sold. Our shortbread Empire State Building is a great example of this and the ideal way for us to mark the celebrations. We first started exporting to the US, with so many ex-pats living in country it was an opportunity to provide many of them with a taste of Scotland. For almost 50 years we’ve experienced increased demand for our all-butter shortbread, as people want to indulge in a quality product which is made with care, from only four natural ingredients, in the Scottish Highlands.”
Walker’s Shortbread Ltd was established 125 years ago in Aberlour, Speyside, Scotland. Still an independent family concern to this day, the company is headed by the founder’s great- grandchildren, who faithfully maintain the tradition of producing the finest shortbread, biscuits, cakes and oatcakes to original recipes using only the finest ingredients – a policy that has earned Walker’s a global reputation for quality and excellence.
Main photo: Pipers celebrating Tartan Week with Sir Jimn Walker. Images courtesy of Walker’s Shortbread.