Muller butter launch to help grow exports

Since it was officially opened in 2013, Muller Wiseman Dairies' state-of-the-art processing plant beside its existing dairy in the north Shropshire town has been churning out block butter for the food ingredient and manufacturing sectors.

Now it is entering the consumer market with the launch of its first 250g packs of butter for the food service and retail convenience sectors.

The move is aimed at adding value to the company's output, said Muller Wiseman Dairies' managing director Carl Ravenhill.

"Our business generates in excess of 90 million litres of excess cream each year, but investing in our butter offering means we now have much more flexibility and opportunity for innovation and expansion in how we add value to this cream," he said.

"It's a great example of how we can displace imports with products made in Britain, with cream from British farms, and I'm pleased to say that the impact of investment in butter-making is starting to have a significant impact on the dairy trade imbalance which exists in this country.

"In the last year, our first year in butter making, imports dropped by 10 per cent and exports increased by a staggering 37 per cent."

Mr Ravenhill added: "We hope that by adding another string to our bow with quality, fresh British packet butter for private label and convenience customers, we can further displace these imports and continue to add value to every drop of milk we process.

"We are ambitious for the future of British butter, and see a range of opportunities for us in the pipeline in terms of packs, sizes, formats, both in own label and branded. Watch this space."

The new butter products are marketed in Muller's black and white colour scheme.

It comes as the company continues to grow its presence in the UK dairy market.

Last week, Dairy Crest confirmed that Muller remains on track to complete an £80 million deal to buy its own dairy operations.

While the acquisition has still to be rubber stamped by the Competition and Market Authorities, Dairy Crest, which previously had its own creamery in Crudgington near Telford, said it was confident of the deal progressing.

The dairy giant has made a considerable investment in Shropshire, as well as the eight-figure investment in the new butter plant at Market Drayton.

It has also taken on the former Uniq processing site at Minsterley in recent years, and bought the former Nom Dairy in Telford as part of its expansion in the county.