Somerset-based cheesemaker Wyke Farms has launched what it is describing as the “world’s first” branded carbon-neutral cheddar.
The family-owned supplier’s carbon-neutral Ivy’s Reserve cheddar – named after current MD Rich Clothier’s grandmother Ivy – went on sale this week direct from its website ivysreserve.com (rsp: £15/3x250g blocks).
The NPD is also available in branches of Costco in the US, while Wykesaid it was in discussions with UK retailers over a wider distribution of the cheese. Additionally, the business is planning to add further carbon-neutral products to its portfolio over the next 12 months, it said.
It follows the launch of an own-label carbon-neutral cheddar made by Wyke Farms for Lidl last year.
Wyke said the cheese was certified carbon-neutral via the Carbon Trust’s PAS 2060 standard and had been manufactured using a raft of sustainable methods throughout Wyke’s supply chain.
These ranged from the regenerative agriculture methods it used on its dairy farms, to the use of 100% green energy produced by Wyke on site and an array of techniques which minimised waste and packaging while also recovering heat and reusing waste water.
Wyke described Ivy’s Reserve as a cheese with a “rounded flavour profile, slightly sweet, nutty and complex”, and something that had previously “remained a family secret”.
The recipe of the cheese – which had previously only been available to friends and family – was developed by Ivy some 100 years ago, Clothier said.
Bringing a carbon-neutral version of it to market was the result of 12 years’ work dating to a 2010 “commitment to energy independence and generating all of our gas and electric from renewables”, he added.
“Since then, we have invested in our knowledge base across this business and on farm, driving environmental improvement year on year. Ivy’s Reserve is a world first and an industry shake-up. This will continue to be our focus in the years ahead as we push for more net positive improvements.”
It comes as farming consultancy Promar International said in September that Wyke Farms’ carbon footprint was 55% smaller than the global dairy producer average.
The following month, the supplier said it would cut its plastics’ use by 35% and was later among several in the dairy sector, including Müller, to offer to subsidise “sustainable milk” as costs surged for farmers due to more expensive fuel and transport, which has led to milk price hikes in recent months.
The launch follows the introduction of other carbon-neutral products by fresh foods suppliers in recent months. A carbon-neutral yoghurt was launched by The Collective Dairy, last July. Welsh grower Puffin Produce, meanwhile, launched the carbon-neutral ‘Root Zero’ line of potatoes in October.
