Unique cheese helps Fivemiletown to record sales
Soaring sales of speciality cheese, especially the unique Boilie Irish goat's cheese pearls produced a trading record for Northern Ireland's Fivemiletown Creamery in 2011, the best-ever sales in its 114 year history.
The creamery, in the year ended 31 December 2011, saw sales of its extensive portfolio of branded cheddars and particularly its award winning soft cow's and goat's cheeses rise by 50 per cent to a record level of £24.5 million mainly in Britain, other parts of Europe and the US. The creamery also secured the first sales of its speciality cheeses in Hong Kong and the Middle East. Pre-tax profits to £421,000.
Last year the creamery, which now sources high protein milk for its handcrafted cheeses from dairy farms across Northern Ireland, strengthened sales of its branded products with foodservice organisations, wholesalers and retailers in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland through extensive investment in market development.
The creamery, which employs 90 people in Fivemiletown and holds Red Tractor and British Retail Consortium Grade A accreditations, now has a five-strong marketing team in Cheshire and supplies all the leading grocery retailers as well as 35 wholesalers and almost 4,000 delis and farm shops in Britain.
The year also saw significant growth in premium own label cheese provided to Lidl and Musgrave Group.
Mervyn McCaughey, Fivemiletown Creamery's Managing Director, commenting on the company's trading performance last year, says: "What's immensely encouraging in the figures is the growth from our pre-packed cheddars and particularly from our existing range of soft cheeses.
"The trading performance shows that our significant investment in marketing is paying off and customers in retailing and foodservice now recognise that Fivemiletown Creamery is unique in the UK and the Republic in being able to provide a comprehensive and unrivalled range of handcrafted cheeses, many of which have won major international awards for quality, taste and innovation.
"We now have many 'champion' products that are driving the growth in sales. Sales of our Boilie goat's cheese pearls, for example, have almost tripled in the past three years because it is a totally unique taste experience. Soft cheeses including our Ballybrie, Ballyblue blue-veined brie and Ballyoak smoked brie have almost doubled over the same period.
"Another strategic commitment for the company is continuous investment in new products shaped by our sharp focus on marketing and the requirements of customers.
"This investment in new products will see the launch of two new Boilie cheeses, which we have developed to meet the growing market trend towards convenience meals, in the autumn. An exciting range of unique flavoured cheddars is planned under the Causeway Cheese brand that we recently acquired.
"We've also widened our product offering by the successful launch of seven premium ice cream flavours and two low-fat sorbets in April. These developments have positioned the company for continued growth in the year ahead, the first quarter of which has seen a further rise in sales in Britain and the Republic," he added.
Established in 1898 as a farmers' co-operative, Fivemiletown Creamery now sells around 95 per cent of its cheese products to customers outside Northern Ireland.