Aldi Scotland has thrown its weight behind calls for the Scottish morning roll to be awarded UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status.

The company, which sells more than 35,000 morning rolls every day, has joined bakery suppliers including Brownings and Murdoch Allan in backing the campaign to secure international recognition for the breakfast staple.

The bid follows France’s successful campaign to have the traditional craft and culture of baguette-making added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2022.

Aldi said the morning roll had been part of Scottish breakfast culture for generations and remained one of its most popular bakery products.

It works with a number of local suppliers to stock the product across its Scottish estate, including fourth-generation baker Brownings and family-run Murdoch Allan.

Murdoch Allan began supplying Aldi in 2023 and now provides six lines across the retailer’s stores in Scotland.

Brownings chairman John Gall said: “As a family business now in its fourth generation, we’ve watched the morning roll stay at the heart of Scottish life since we started baking in 1945.

“It’s more than a product to us, it’s part of the culture we grew up in and the one we’re proud to keep going.”

Murdoch Allan owner Paul Allan added that the skills behind making the rolls had been “developed over generations and passed from baker to baker”.

Aldi Scotland buying director Alan Leslie said: “The Scottish morning roll is so much more than a breakfast item – it’s part of everyday Scottish life and a tradition that has been enjoyed for generations.

“We’re proud to support calls for it to receive the recognition it deserves.”

He added: “UNESCO might still be deciding, but as far as we’re concerned, the morning roll is already a Scottish national treasure.”

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