Inverness Oil & Vinegar store and UK wide mail order franchise up for grabs as owners plan retirement
They have been bringing authentic flavours and tasteful culinary gifts to the people of Inverness for 19 years now.
But Colin and Sandie Craig’s passion for good food and premium quality ingredients, while inexhaustible, has just been trumped by thoughts of retirement and a little bit of time with the grandchildren.
The couple, who opened the Oil & Vinegar franchise in Union Street in 2006 while taking charge of the company’s entire UK mail order business, are looking for successors with the energy to take the business forward.
Built up as a successful going concern through years of hard work, the local shop has survived recessions, the Covid pandemic and Brexit, retaining a deeply loyal local customer base.
Groundbreaking in its variety of oils and vinegars - an average of 60 different sorts at any given time - it remains a unique and much-loved city outlet.
Mr Craig, explaining his decision to put the local franchise up for sale, said: “I’ll be 65 in the summer and I just feel the time has come to take a step back.
“We have grandchildren and we want to spend more time with them, and just get out and about as well, rather than work 24/7.
“People are amazed generally that it is 19 years since we were established - they can’t believe it, but I swear it is true!
“We started in 2006. It has been a bit of a rollercoaster, not without its challenges over the years with two recessions and Brexit, but it has also been great fun.
“We’re very lucky because we have some very loyal customers in Inverness. It has been a good experience.”
Oil &Vinegar’s first shop was opened in the Netherlands but franchisees now operate in shops across Europe, the United States, Canada, Brazil and South Africa.
The passing of the baton in Inverness and of the UK-wide webshop offers a unique opportunity for the right successor.
“We’re hopeful we can find someone to take it over and it can continue, but equally we are not going to wait forever,” Mr Craig said.
“If that is not going to happen, we will just accept the inevitable and close the doors.
“If we find the right person, there would be an element of sale and that would obviously have to be acceptable to the franchisor as well.”
One basic prerequisite would be a passion for food.
“It’s as simple as that - it would suit someone who has an interest in the products and in good food,” he said.
Mr Craig has been a champion of the city centre, both as a trader and as co-chairman of Inverness BID, throughout his 19 years at the helm.
He knows the challenges facing any new business but, equally, remains positive for the future of Inverness given the ingenuity of local people and the resilience the city centre has shown.
“We have to be optimistic. There are good things happening in the city centre,” Mr Craig stressed.
“It is not going to be the same as it was. It will be a very different kind of mix in time, but there can be positives from that.
“It is good to see a business like the fashion store Rebel Row take root in Union Street and the revitalisation of the Victorian Market is great.
“We need to rely on local entrepreneurs picking up where the nationals are probably not going to return in the same numbers as they were 20 years ago.
“But I think we should end up with a more diverse offering than we had in the past.
“There are plenty of headwinds. We’re under no illusions – it is not the best of times to start a new business, but as I’ve seen in 19 years there are ups and downs – and there will be an up coming.”
