Dairy Crest
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Its brands include Cathedral City Cheddar
Cathedral City Cheddar
Cathedral City is Dairy Crest’s leading brand of Cheddar cheese and the most popular brand in the UK. It is produced from a 25-year-old recipe at Davidstow in Cornwall, which has neither city status nor a cathedral....
cheese, Utterly Butterly, Vitalite
Vitalite
Vitalite is a sunflower oil-based margarine, produced by Dairy Crest in Kirkby in Merseyside.It began in 1983, being made by Kraft General Foods. In 1996, it was bought by St Ivel, who were then bought by Dairy Crest in November 2002...
, Clover, St Ivel and Frijj
FRijj
Frijj is a brand of milkshake sold mainly in the United Kingdom. Produced by Dairy Crest, it was first launched in 1993. Frijj is sold in four permanent flavours: strawberry, chocolate, banana and Chocolate Fudge Brownie...
. The company delivers milk to around 1.1 million households via their milkmen. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index
FTSE 250 Index
The FTSE 250 Index is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions to and demotions from the index take place quarterly in March, June, September and December...
.
History
Milk Marketing Board
The Milk Marketing Board was a government agency established in 1933 to control milk production and distribution in the United Kingdom. It functioned as buyer of last resort in the British milk market, thereby guaranteeing a minimum price for milk producers...
. In 1983 the company launched Clover, its dairy spread.
In 1991 the company established a joint venture with French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
dairy company Yoplait
Yoplait
Yoplait is a brand of yogurt produced by a company owned by two French holdings, SODIAAL and PAI Partners.-History:In 1964, 100,000 French farmers merged their regional dairy cooperatives to sell nationally. In 1965, two co-ops, "Yola" and "Coplait", merged, becoming "Yoplait"...
called Yoplait Dairy Crest (often abbreviated to YDC) which is 51% owned by Yoplait and 49% by Dairy Crest and which distributes Yoplait brand products in the UK. In 1995 it bought the Cathedral City brand of cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
from Mendip Foods Ltd.
The business was privatised in August 1996 and Dairy Crest was listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
. In July 2000 it acquired the dairy and cheese products division of Unigate
Unigate
Uniq plc is a British food manufacturer. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and in November 2002 it acquired the St Ivel
St Ivel
St Ivel is a brand of dairy products in the United Kingdom. It began as a subsidiary under the ownership of the Unigate dairy company with most production sites in the south west of England and some in Wales...
spreads company which had been based in Wootton Bassett
Wootton Bassett
Royal Wootton Bassett , informally known as Wootton Bassett, is a small market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 11,043 in 2001...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. In September 2004 it went on to acquire the Country Life butter brand from English Butter Marketing Company. In July 2006 it acquired Express Dairies
Express Dairies
Express Dairies is a subsidiary of Dairy Crest, specialising almost entirely in home deliveries of milk and other dairy products.-History:The company was founded by George Barham in 1864 as the Express County Milk Supply Company, named after the fact that they only used express trains to get their...
from Arla Foods
Arla Foods
Arla Foods is a Swedish-Danish cooperative based in Århus, Denmark, and the largest producer of dairy products in Scandinavia. Arla Foods was formed as the result of a merger between the Swedish dairy cooperative Arla and the Danish dairy company MD Foods on 17 April 2000.Arla Foods is the seventh...
for £33m. In October 2006, it sold the majority of its own label cheese business to First Milk, its Scottish equivalent, along with the creameries and factory that produce most of the products concerned.
In January 2007 Dairy Crest bought St Hubert for £248 million securing the Cholegram, Le Fleurier and Omega 3 brands, which are among the top selling spreads in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and the Vallé brand which is the market leader in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Operations
The company supplies milkMilk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
, cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
, spreads and drinks. It also has an online ordering service for its doorstep customers known as milk&more.
Cheese brands include Cathedral City, Davidstow and Wexford. Spread brands include Clover, Country Life (named for the magazine), St. Hubert, Utterly Butterly, Vitalite
Vitalite
Vitalite is a sunflower oil-based margarine, produced by Dairy Crest in Kirkby in Merseyside.It began in 1983, being made by Kraft General Foods. In 1996, it was bought by St Ivel, who were then bought by Dairy Crest in November 2002...
and Willow. Drink brands include Country Life Milk and Frijj
FRijj
Frijj is a brand of milkshake sold mainly in the United Kingdom. Produced by Dairy Crest, it was first launched in 1993. Frijj is sold in four permanent flavours: strawberry, chocolate, banana and Chocolate Fudge Brownie...
(a milkshake
Milkshake
A milkshake is a sweet, cold beverage which is made from milk, ice cream or iced milk, and flavorings or sweeteners such as fruit syrup or chocolate sauce....
).
Milk production sites include Chadwell Heath
Chadwell Heath
Chadwell Heath is a place in the London Borough of Redbridge and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, both in Greater London. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
and Stonehouse
Stonehouse, Gloucestershire
Stonehouse, Gloucestershire is an urban area within the Stroud District, in the UK. It is home to a number of factories, such as Dairy Crest and Schlumberger. The town is close to the M5 motorway. Stonehouse railway station has a regular train service to London...
and spread production sites include Crudgington
Crudgington
Crudgington is a village in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It is situated in the civil parish of Waters Upton, a village to the north, and is 7 miles north-west of Telford...
and Kirkby
Kirkby
Kirkby is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in the metropolitan county of Merseyside in England. The town was developed from the 1950s through 1970s as a means to house the overspill of Liverpool. It is situated roughly north of Huyton, the administrative HQ of the borough and about...
.