The UK’s largest organic dairy co-op, Omsco, has changed its trading name to Organic Herd and launched a range of branded consumer-facing products.
The “premium” range has been created in collaboration with long-standing Omsco partners.
It includes a trio of organic cheddars made by Wyke Farms – in mild, mature and extra mature (rsp: from £3.79/200g). There are also three organic ‘Velvety’ cheeses made by Sussex-based High Weald Dairy in soft & creamy, garlic & parsley and spicy & marbled (rsp: £5.25/150g).
The lineup also features organic butters made by Glastonbury-based Brue Valley (rsp: £3.99/250g for salted and unsalted blocks, plus 80g flavoured butter rolls). It is capped off with organic chocolate and drinking chocolate lines made by Scottish producer Chocolate Tree (rsp: from £3.89).
The products will be available via distributor Peter Green, and will see Organic Herd initially supply specialist retailers, wholesalers farm shops and delis. However, Organic Herd CEO Martyn Anthony suggested the brand could also expand into other channels in due course.
The move continues the dairy co-op’s pivot towards becoming more of a branded player in the UK. This kicked off last summer, when Omsco unveiled the Grass Roots Dairy Co – its first branded range of organic cheddar specifically for the UK market – which will also continue to be available to customers.
Omsco had previously been best known in the UK for its role as an organic milk broker and manufacturer of branded organic cheeses for the export market.
By rebranding as Organic Herd, Anthony hoped the business could continue to diversify, while becoming better known to consumers.
He said the aim was to communicate its values as “a producer of the highest quality organic milk and dairy products, as well as being a leader in championing the intrinsic benefits of organic dairy”.
The launch will be supported by social media activity, backed by a new tagline of ‘Proudly Sustainable, Naturally Delicious, Always Organic’.
Moving away from the largely trade-orientated Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative (Omsco) brand was described as a “logical part of our evolution” by Anthony, with over a fifth of the business now devoted to branded activity.
It would also help it maintain its market-leading milk price, which was more than 10p per litre higher than the conventional average over the past year, he pointed out.
“From being simply a transactional supplier of organic milk to third party processors, our new name reflects that we are now a more confident and more progressive business with a range of valuable customers, supply partnerships, product offerings and routes to market,” he said.
“We believe our new, more relevant and relatable name will enable us to redefine and reinforce all that is great about organic dairy. It will enable us to engage more effectively with customers and consumers on the issues that they care about and make a compelling case for why they should choose organic dairy, which by its very nature is the original and only fully accredited regenerative dairy farming system.”
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