Community
Studies: Publications
McCowan's Highland Toffee
A Scottish Tradition
In A Tradition of Commitment
Origins
Andrew McCowan (1874-1951) spent much of his youth herding Highland cattle in Perthshire. His entrepreneurial spirit took him to the Lowlands where he quickly realized his potential -- lemonade delivery boy to confectionery agent to manufacturer in a few short years. A. McCowan and Sons Ltd. was established in Stenhousemuir in 1924 and a decade later "Highland Toffee" was born.
The Highland Cow has been a symbol of McCowan's "commitment" for over half a century. Andrew McCowan's early commitment to this one-time mainstay of the Highland economy encouraged him to create, in his company, a mainstay in the Stenhousemuir economy. The relationship between McCowan's and the community has always been one of interdependency, cooperation and mutual benefit.
Traditions such as Highland Toffee are important components of cultural heritage. McCowan's commitment to tradition and cultural heritage extends from product recipe to international cooperation and support. McCowan's new management team in the early 1990s has been working closely with the James McCowan Memorial Social History Initiative in an effort to reveal the soul of the Scottish-Canadian. The story of the Scottish ploughman is part of the story of the Scottish-Canadian. McCowan's commitment to the community and to cultural heritage is indeed a Scottish tradition.
The McCowan Initiative is very fortunate to have McCowan's Ltd. of Stenhousemuir,
Scotland, as a Benefactor.
From The Hog-Score in the Great Rink of Time: Ramblings
on Curling
With John Rae McCowan (May 28 1919 - June 5 2021)
A Fitting Repatriation on June 5, 2025
Unfortunately McCowan's Ltd. of Stenhousemuir closed their Highland Toffee factory doors in 2011. But the significance (to all of Scotland) of McCowan's Highland Toffee -- and the Highland Cow -- definitely lives on...
By way of an introduction... Greetings were received from David Hunter of the Scottish Studies Foundation.
We were pleased to learn that the McCowan Toffee
Tapestry is to be returned to a safe home in Scotland.
As a child growing up in Scotland in the austere years
post WW2, it was always a special treat for me and my brother to find a bar of
McCowan's Highland Toffee in our Christmas stocking, and we were always on the
lookout for the iconic Heilan' Coo wrapper in the sweetie shops.
When I was wee,
I couldna dree,
Cups o' tea or coffee.
I'd aye gang oot,
Tae spend ma loot,
On bars o' Heilan' toffee!
A very big thank you to our good friend and supporter
Bruce McCowan for making this happen.
I do hope the tapestry takes pride of place in its new
home.
Best wishes,
David
Hunter, President
Scottish
Studies Foundation
dree= endure/bear
aye= aften/always
gang= go
loot= pocket money
What
and Why: A
McCowan’s Highland Toffee reunion! A very large and charming tapestry
has been in Canada for over three decades (all on the up-and-up). “McCowan’s
Heeland Coo” – a lovable Scottish icon right up there with bagpipes and
thistles -- will be formally repatriated to Stenhousemuir where she belongs.
When:
Thursday June 5, 2025, 2:00 PM
Where:
Larbert High School, Carrongrange Avenue, Stenhousemuir, Falkirk, FK5 3BL
Who:
McCowan’s Toffee lovers are invited to share their stories about “Coo
Candy”.
What
Else:
Highland Cow limericks and a student essay about the cattle trysts and Andrew
McCowan's youthful work herding highland cattle.
Many thanks to Fiona Dobie and Michael Gillen of the Falkirk Herald for covering the June 5 Highland Cow Tapestry repatriation event so well:
The June 5 Tapestry repatriation event at Larbert High School was even discussed in the Scottish Parliament!...
https://www.larberthigh.com/highlights-horizons/community-spirit
Along with our donation to Larbert High School of the huge tapestry (126 inches long by 97 inches high), a good number of McCowan's toffee boxes and containers, dozens of toffee wrappers, as well as a McCowan mini-Toffee-hammer, a calendar and a large barbecue apron were given to the school for student art projects.
It was a great event! Several dozen keenly active Larbert students -- artists, photographers, videographers, culinary wizards and tech experts -- joined the McCowan contingent and other special guests in this very memorable celebration of a Scottish cultural icon.
Four Larbert students were each given nice cash awards for their closely-related literary achievements. There were two winners of the McCowans Highland Cow Limerick Contest. In the Highland Cow category -- Gregor Milne. In the McCowan's Highland Toffee category --Sophie Leadbetter.
Ekua Osei, in her final year at Larbert, took a creative writing approach to her award-winning essay submission. Her piece is narrated in the voice of a young cattle herder, Andrew McCowan. An extract here...
... I’ll never forget the day of my first Tryst. The cheesiness of my words is revolting, but I have no other way to describe it. You just had to be there. Hustle and bustle was an understatement. This wasn’t your typical visit to Edinburgh on a Saturday with half-decent weather. This was the nectar of Scotland poured into the most revoltingly patriotic whiskey glass you could find: bewildering, yet stunning. Everywhere you turned, there were throngs of people buying and selling. Even if you were the nosiest person on the planet, you never would’ve been able to pick out and follow along with an entire conversation. All you would get were little previews of each: the commanding yells of an auctioneer, men and women are desperately trying to haggle over the price of something. I can’t even tell what it’s for...
Very recent Larbert graduate Joanna Bolton wrote a well-researched winning essay which included this passage::
... This legacy is also reflected in Scotland’s historic cattle markets, particularly the great trysts, or drovers’ fairs, such as the one once held at Larbert. The Falkirk Tryst, situated near Falkirk, was one of the most important cattle gatherings in Scotland during the 18th and 19th centuries. Thousands of Highland cattle were driven from remote glens to Falkirk, often over many days, along ancient drove roads that crisscrossed the country. These markets were not only commercial hubs but also vital social events, where farmers, drovers, butchers, and traders converged. The journey to Falkirk was a testament to the endurance of the animals and the skill of the herders who managed them. Though the tryst faded with the rise of the railways and modern transport, its legacy lives on in the cultural memory of Highland cattle herding—an enduring symbol of Scottish resilience, trade, and community spirit. Just a short distance from where the Tryst once bustled, the town of Stenhousemuir was also home to McCowan’s, the famous confectionery company known for its Highland Toffee. Founded in the early 20th century by Andrew McCowan, the company began when McCowan started selling his wife's homemade toffee from their home in Stenhousemuir. The toffee's popularity led to the opening of a factory in 1924, and Highland Toffee became one of Scotland's most beloved sweets...
Thanks to Larbert staff and students for taking the following photographs at the June 5/25 Highland Cow Tapestry repatriation event.:
Dear
Friends at Larbert
I
was delighted to find the Motion letter from Michelle Thomson, MSP, at
https://www.larberthigh.com/highlights-horizons/community-spirit
Motion
Number: S6M-18174
Lodged
By: Michelle Thomson
Date
Lodged: 27/06/2025
Here's
hoping that the Motion letter will help Larbert HS secure extra funding for the
McCowan Research Hub that you mentioned as well as other valuable projects at
Larbert HS.
Best
regards,
Former Chair (2010-12), Professional Engineers Ontario Education Committee
Now Retired
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Heritage Showcase 1993
And The Highland Cow Limerick Contest
On behalf of McCowan's Ltd. of Stenhousemuir, Scotland, the James McCowan Memorial Social History Initiative in Canada is pleased to announce the winner of the "Highland Cow Limerick Contest". Mr. Jim Willson of Etobicoke, Ontario, visited the McCowan Initiative display at Heritage Showcase, held February 18-20, 1993 in Sherway Gardens Mall in Metropolitan Toronto. He and many proud Scots and, indeed, others were attracted by the grand and colourful tapestry of the "Highland Cow" above the McCowan Initiative table. The McCowan Initiative was selling McCowan's Highland Toffee -- a part of Scottish culture for sixty years -- in a fundraising for their Scottish heritage publishing projects. The founder of McCowan's Ltd., Andrew McCowan, herded highland cattle in Perthshire as a youth almost 100 years ago. Today, the Highland Cow is famous as a trademark of his company. So, congratulations to Jim Willson -- he won a pound of McCowan's Highland Toffee for his "Highland Cow Limerick":
There are cows on the Island of Lewis
Brown, shaggy and oft in the news
To be very brief
They're grown for their beef
To see them, you must take a cruise.
Jim's winning limerick from Toronto about the Isle of Lewis (as in "Lose") soon inspired a limerick from Lewis about Toronto -- a very clever bit of poetry indeed! Jim explains:
"I had sent a copy of my limerick to some acquaintances at Stornoway on the island of Lewis and received back a postcard of a Highland Cow with the following Limerick and a complaint that it was much easier to rhyme 'Lewis' than 'Toronto'."
We saw very strange cows in Toronto
So informed the Lone Ranger and Tonto
We said, "These provide
Neither beef, milk, nor hide."
They replied, "We'll investigate, pronto!"
From Croft To Clearing, V1 #2, 1993
PS: Now if Jim had educated the poet in Stornoway as to the correct pronunciation of "Trawna", the rhyming would have come much easier -- fauna, sauna, Donna, wanna' gonna', bwana!
The McCowan Initiative is collecting Scots' stories -- in prose or in verse! -- relating to personal experiences with Highland Toffee -- "COO CANDY". Stories about war-time rationing, events going to or returning from the sweetie shop, and comments! from schoolteachers, parents, ministers, and dentists will all be of interest to be sure! Stories about life in Stenhousemuir amongst the makers of Highland Toffee will be particularly appreciated. Please send your "McCowan's Highland Toffee Stories" to:
The James McCowan Memorial Social History Initiative, c/o 19 Monarchwood Crescent, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada, M3A 1H3, 447-4895, bmccowan@netrover.com.