FDBusiness.com

Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket group, is increasing the volume of cheddar cheese it is buying from British producers from 20,000 tonnes per annum to 55,000 tonnes. According to Tesco, the deal will be worth an extra £100m to the UK cheddar cheese industry.

The cheese will be used in all Tesco own label block, grated and sliced mild, medium, mature and extra mature lines, with the exception of the retailer’s ‘Value’ range. The Value line accounts for about a fifth of Tesco’s cheddar cheese sales and is sourced from Britain and Ireland.

Tesco is also changing the wording on its packaging to emphasise to customers that the cheddar is British. Packs will feature a Union Jack accompanied by the wording – ‘Produced in the UK using milk from the UK’. The move by Tesco is in response to increasing consumer demand for British cheddar.

Dairy UK, the trade association that represents the interests of dairy farmers, producer co-ops, milk processors and doorstep deliverymen, has welcomed Tesco’s decision. “The United Kingdom is the home of cheddar cheese. Cheddar is also the nation’s favourite cheese, so it’s easy to understand that British consumers would want to buy cheddar made by British cheese makers using milk from British dairy farms,” says Jim Begg, director general of Dairy UK. “We welcome this initiative as it both commits to supporting British cheese makers and dairy farmers, whilst at the same time providing greater clarity for consumers about the provenance of their cheese.”