Case study: Delamere Dairy – milking the export opportunity

In this case study we see how Delamere Dairy have grown their export sales, particularly in China.

Cheshire based Delamere Dairy sells a range of fresh and long-life goats’ milk products (cheese, yogurt, butter and milk), long life cows’ milk and a range of milk products for the pet market.

When Delamere Dairy was founded in 1985 in Cheshire’s Delamere Forest, founders Liz & Roger Sutton began their venture into what was then an unknown market. Borne from a region renowned for traditional dairy, Delamere Dairy is pushing the boundaries with its product innovation to reach markets in the UK, throughout Europe and across the globe. Through determination, a belief in the potential of goat farming, and a number of shrewd business decisions, the company has developed into an international speciality dairy.

Exporting to China accounts for significant growth

Delamere Dairy sees export as the main contributor to its overall growth in the last two years. Products are now stocked on supermarket shelves in 17 countries including America, the Caribbean, the UAE, Singapore, and China, with export sales accounting for 20% of Delamere Dairy’s total turnover in 2014.

China alone accounted for 70% of Delamere Dairy’s total export sales in 2014, and China and the Far East is where Delamere Dairy sees its growth coming from over the next few years. In 2011 Delamere Dairy opened an overseas office in Hong Kong to explore and service Far Eastern markets enabling them to get ahead of the game in a market where there is currently a high demand for European dairy products.

Award winning exporters

In 2015, Delamere Dairy was crowned ‘Exporter of the Year’ at Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Awards, which celebrate the leading businesses in the UK food and drink industry.

With an established network of over 25 trusted producers and packers in the UK and Europe, Delamere Dairy has the capability to bring new products to market relatively quickly. Working with specialists in each field allows Delamere Dairy to take advantage of new processing technology, resulting in a range of top quality, fresh and long-life products, and the flexibility and ability to meet market demands quickly. Overall, this leads to more listings for Delamere products, reduced wastage for retailers and improved on shelf availability for consumers.

Ed Salt, MD of Delamere Dairy said:
“By working with trusted consolidator partners in the UK or more recently, by employing staff on the ground in order to gain a full understanding of the local market, we have successfully overcome several challenges around entering new markets.

“We still have great plans for expansion and growth, much of which we see coming from export markets in the short and medium term. In particular, we are keen to build on our proven track record of success in China and the achievements we have already realised in a relatively short space of time.”