A Kerrygold History
Today we take a trip down memory lane to get a glimpse at the heritage and history of your favourite Irish butter brand this Dairy Month. The Kerrygold story is, in fact, a large part of the history behind how Irish dairy farming began.
Known and loved by customers all over the world, from the USA to Germany and South Africa, the Kerrygold brand is largely associated with grass-fed cows grazing in luscious Irish pastures.
With generations of farmers responsible for upholding the quality Kerrygold name, the success of Kerrygold’s dairy products can be greatly attributed to the world-class milk produced by the well-looked after dairy cows living on approximately 14,000 small family farms in Ireland.
Join us for a stroll down memory lane.
The Start of Our Journey
Our journey goes back all the way to 1961 when the Irish Dairy Board was established to promote, facilitate, encourage, assist, co-ordinate and develop the exporting of milk and milk products from Ireland.
The below photo is of Vincent Colgan, the President of Ireland, and Eamonn De Valera at the Irish Dairy Board Spring Show in 1961.
The Kerrygold Name
By 1962 sixty name suggestions for the Kerrygold brand had been received. After some time these sixty were reduced to six options including Buttercup, Shannon Gold, Leprechaun, Tub-o-Gold, Golden Farm and, of course, Kerrygold.
The names were presented to the Irish Dairy Board and Kerrygold was launched for sale in the UK in 1962.
A Good Year
Kerrygold opened up excellent opportunities for Ireland in 1963 with Ireland becoming a member of the EEC and extending new trade opportunities. Kerrygold then began exporting to Germany.
What started out as a special relationship has now blossomed leaving Kerrygold the number one butter brand in Germany.
Returning to Local Shores
Even though Kerrygold is an Irish brand, the butter was only made available for sale to the Irish public in 1973 eleven years after it was launched in the United Kingdom. It goes without saying that Kerrygold is the number one butter brand in Ireland today.
Kerrygold Regato Goes to Greece
Kerrygold has a massive cheese range, a natural extension of the beloved butter range. In 1979, the Regato Classic Range was launched into the Greek market. At the time Kerrygold was not expecting the Greek market to develop such a fast love for Irish Cheese.
By 1983, Kerrygold Regato was the first cheese to receive its own advert on Greek TV and now nearly 4,000 metric tonnes of Regato cheese are sold in Greece every year.
Jetting Off to Africa
Our adventure didn’t stop there. In 1995 the Kerrygold Team was off to South Africa to launch our Kerrygold Milk Powder range which is still largely used and enjoyed in many African countries across the continent.
Dubliner Goes to America
By 1998 it was time to head across the ocean to the USA where the Dubliner Cheese was launched and became an overnight success. Today Kerrygold Butter is the number two butter brand in the USA.
Kerrygoldstrasse
In honour of Germany’s favourite butter, Kerrygold got its own street named after the popular Irish brand called “Kerrygoldstrasse”. What an honour for the brand!
A New Home
In 2014, Kerrygold was thrilled to receive approval for our new home at Kerrygold Park which was to be the new butter packing plant situated in County Cork.
Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards
As we have mentioned before, Kerrygold prides itself in the quality of milk produced by our dedicated teams of dairy farmers. In partnership with the National Dairy Council, Kerrygold went on the hunt for the best milk in Ireland.
In 2015, the O’Sullivan family from Goleen in West Cork has crowned the champion beating a total of 17,000 dairy farmers.
Reaching €1 Billion in Global Sales
From humble beginnings on our island to huge success, in 2019 Kerrygold was proud to reach a total of €1 billion in global sales which were record-breaking for the brand.
Not only was this a historical moment for the brand, but Kerrygold was the first Irish brand to reach this milestone marking Kerrygold as Ireland’s most successful food exporter.
***
From humble beginnings to today, Kerrygold is proud of where we started and what we have become. Thank you to all for your ongoing support!
To find out more please visit our website or follow us on our social media pages: Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
