Adams Foods and First Milk have forged a long-term strategic partnership that will see them establish a major new integrated supply chain for hard cheese in the UK.
Under the deal, Scottish co-operative First Milk’s farmers will receive a “competitive” price for their milk that goes for cheesemaking, the companies said in a joint statement this morning.
Adams Foods – a subsidiary of the Irish Dairy Board – will cut, pack and market 50,000 tonnes of hard cheese, including branded Cheddars, produced at First Milk’s Lake District and Haverfordwest creameries.
It will also take on sales and marketing of the cheese to British retail, foodservice and wholesale customers.
“It demonstrates our continued commitment to supporting the UK cheese market and to meeting the needs of our growing customer base”
Ian Toal, Adams Foods
First Milk will continue to manage sales and marketing of its Cheddars to export markets.
The agreement would facilitate “significant additional investment” at First Milk’s cheesemaking plants to ensure they were among the best in the UK dairy industry, the companies added in their joint statement.
The deal was a further important move towards Adams’ strategic vision of becoming one of the leading suppliers of cheese in the UK and would increase its turnover to more than £500m, said Ian Toal, chief executive of Adams Foods.
“It demonstrates our continued commitment to supporting the UK cheese market and to meeting the needs of our growing customer base.”
The partnership represented a further major investment in building the market for both British and Irish-sourced cheese, over and above the £60m Adams had already invested in the business, he added.
First Milk will join cheesemakers Parkham Farms and South Caernarfon Creameries, which already supply Adams with British cheese.
The partnership was directly in line with First Milk’s strategic objective of adding value and delivering a sustainable future for its farmers, said Kate Allum, chief executive of First Milk. “It not only enables us to work with a partner to deliver a short, integrated supply chain, but most importantly guarantees secure returns for our members’ milk.”
It would provide a platform for First Milk to focus more of its time and resources on priority growth areas such as brand development, lifestyle nutrition and exports, she added.
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