New business in Britain for Northern Irish blue cheese

Northern Ireland's blue cheese, Young Buck, developed by Mike's Fancy Cheese (MFC), has won business from the influential Neal's Yard Dairy in London and could soon be supplying one of the capital's most influential stores.

The company, which makes Northern Ireland's only raw milk blue cheese, turned to crowdfunding platform Seedrs for the second time to raise additional funds, £25,000, for marketing the blue cheese, launched three months ago.

It had obtained £80,000 from domestic and international Seedrs investors in May 2013, for a 40 per cent stake in the start-up company.

The cheese has since been stocked at various restaurants across Belfast, as well as a Michelin-starred one in Dublin. It is also distributed by Irish wholesaler Sheridans from branches in Dublin, Waterford, Meath and Galway.

MFC managing director Mike Thomson will use the latest funding to step up production of Young Buck, the company's initial product.

Thomson says: "Winning the second tranche of funding through Seedrs is a marvellous endorsement of the product and the business model. We simply wouldn't have been able to do this without crowdfunding, it's been great and I've been able to keep control of the business and brand.

"When I launched the first round last year, many people put their faith in me. We've been making cheese for three months now and we've already won a silver award for the best blue cheese at the Irish Cheese Awards. We've also had a lot of good feedback from restaurants across Belfast."

Thomson hopes the potential partnerships with luxury London stores will boost the product's international presence.

"Our ideal target market is wholesalers, for use in delis, shops and restaurants. At the minute the UK is our target. But the likes of Neal's Yard are focused on exports to the US and Europe and already have contacts set up there. We're hoping to be doing business there later in the year or 2015."