A WELSH cheese maker is further establishing itself within the highly lucrative US market following Welsh Government funding which has allowed the Carmarthenshire firm the opportunity to research the maturation process of its artisanal cheeses, thereby extending its shelf life and export potential.
Carmarthenshire Cheese was founded in 2006 and specialises in the production of mould ripened blue and white cheeses. For the past nine years the company has operated out of its Llandysul factory, providing supermarkets, including Tesco, with a variety of soft, mould ripened and traditional cheeses, which draw heavily on their Welsh heritage, and utilise primarily local ingredients with provenance.
The core ranges have been designed for the UK market, with the main flagship brand being Pont Gâr. The company began exporting to the US, Canada, Australia and mainland Europe in 2009/2010. However, after significant research into dairy maturation processes following Welsh Government funding, the plan is to significantly increase the export potential of the Welsh cheeses, particularly to the US market.
A £22,000 innovation voucher from the Welsh Governments’ innovation support programme has allowed Carmarthenshire Cheese to engage the services of an external expert to focus specifically on the maturation processes of cheese. A large amount of research into how the maturation process actually works has allowed the firm to create cheeses that have a longer shelf life, making them more suitable for export, but which have remained true to their artisanal roots, meaning that no preservatives have been added.
This strategy has been bolstered by the acquisition of a new high specification dedicated cheese manufacturing unit in Llanllwch, which the company will be moving into in August 2015, which has been partly facilitated with the aid of the Welsh Economic Growth Fund, and which will be responsible for creating a number of new jobs in the local community.
Steve Peace, managing director of Carmarthenshire Cheese, said: “For us the main goal is to improve the shelf life of our cheeses so they are suitable for export without compromising on the integrity of our product. Previously exporting our products has presented issues in that the chilled food supply chain in distant markets may not be as robust as in the UK and as a result shelf life and product integrity may be compromised, shipment by sea for up to 6 weeks has introduced a significant lag in the distribution time. Both factors which may lead to high levels of spoilage. This was something we seriously needed to address at a factory level.
“It was a difficult technological challenge involving complex biochemical processes and being able to utilise the knowledge and skill of an external expert, and combining our joint scientific backgrounds, has been crucial in developing our understanding of maturation processes and microbiological spoilage, allowing us to reformulate recipes and improve product life.
“It has also gone a long way to limiting our waste outputs and improving our sustainability as a brand. Developing the US market is crucial to our future business plans but this was something we had to get right in order to be able to compete. In the US our products are regarded as premium products and it is imperative they could be regarded as such following exportation.”
Edwina Hart, Minister for Economy, said: “Businesses in Wales that produce high quality food and drink products have huge international export potential. However, alongside the challenge of forging overseas commercial partnerships, one of the principal difficulties facing these companies has been delivering these products to international markets in peak condition, something that is particularly relevant to the dairy industry.”
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