Dairy Crest axed St Ivel Gold this year following declining sales as shoppers switched to butter spreads.

The dairy giant, which has brands including Utterly Butterly, Clover and Country Life, said it stopped manufacturing the range from April this year “due to evolving consumer tastes and preferences”. The move comes as no big shock to buyers, who say the brand has been on a slippery slope for some time.

Dairy Crest acquired St Ivel Gold in 2002 and added an Omega-3 variant in 2005 to tap into the popularity of functional goods at that time.

However, the product never really took off, despite Dairy Crest pumping £4m into it shortly after launch.

This, however, has not stopped the company entering the functional sector via other brands, including an offering under its Utterly Butterly brand in August last year. It also owns the French St Hubert brand, which includes an Omega-3 line.

Dairy Crest is now likely to put all its support behind the Clover range, which is its power brand in the yellow fats sector.

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