Artisan blue cheese launches retail pack in Britain

Kearney Blue, the Northern Irish artisan cheesemaker, has developed a retail pack as part of a strategy to boost sales in delis and other independents in Great Britain and Ireland. The company has just launched its award winning blue cheese in 225g tubs in an attractive sleeve with a recommended retail price of £6.

Kearney Blue, launched in 2010 by blue cheese enthusiast Paul McClean, is a semi-hard cheese with a distinctive rind, an open texture and smooth, creamy flavour. It won a gold medal in the New Cheese category at the Nantwich International Cheese Festival in 2012.

The new packs will be distributed in Britain through an agreement with Woods Foodservice of Southall, Middlesex, a leading supplier of products to chefs and caterers.

The new Kearney Blue retail pack has a shelf life of three months and represents a significant investment by the artisan business to expand sales particularly outside Northern Ireland.The distinctive packaging has been designed to reflect the company's focus on a cheese that evokes images of dry stonewalls and stone built windmills to be seen in the Mourne Mountains of county Down, the original home of the product, Northern Ireland's first artisan blue cheese.

Mr McClean says the decision to develop the new retail packs is a response to feedback from customers and from leading delis both seeking a more convenient format. The cheese was originally introduced in 500g rounds for deli cheese counters. "I saw an opportunity to create a retail option that cheese lovers could pick up easily in a deli or other retail outlet.

"Discussions with leading delis in Northern Ireland indicated an opportunity to develop a convenient format for hampers and gift boxes. Kearney Blue is now the only Northern Irish cheese that's an ideal fit for hampers," he adds.