Two South West cheese companies giving the world a slice of the South West

On National Cheese Lover’s Day, we’re celebrating by speaking to two cheese exporters based in the South West about how they’ve grown their businesses through trading overseas. 

In 2019, the total value of British cheese exports was £676mn, a 5% increase on 2018, according to the AHDB.

North America is the second-largest export destination for British cheese after France, with £61mn of the total share. But Asia, where dairy is not usually a large part of the diet in many countries, is proving to hold increasingly more opportunity for British cheesemakers. UK exports were worth £36mn to Asia and £42mn to the Middle East and North Africa in 2019.

The Alvis family at Lye Cross Farm are farmers and cheesemakers based just a few miles from the village of Cheddar in Somerset. The cheesemaking business was started in 1952 by the grandparents of Johnny and Peter Alvis, the third generation of the family to now run Lye Cross Farm. The company employs more than 130 people and has an annual turnover of £26 million.

“One of the key achievements of Lye Cross Farm has been being responsive to market conditions.” Says Tim Harrap, Head of Collaboration for the business. 

When asked about the reasons why the company began exporting, he said: 

“The government have been promoting exporting for SMEs for some years. The market for cheese in the UK is mature and will not grow much more, so we needed to find other opportunities. 

“With Europe on the doorstep and a strong cheese culture, it was quite easy to work with distributors across the continent. A third of the production of Lye Cross Farm is now exported.

“Half of exports go into Europe, and we have achieved significant business in South Korea, America and the Middle East.” 

The company now exports a third of its cheese production and has seen exports grow 13% in the last three years.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) has been supporting the company to export for several years. This has come in the form of market research support, funding to attend exhibitions and help with developing relationships with key distributors

Tim said: “In the early days DIT provided us with some funding to attend important exhibitions. We have exhibited at the food fair ANUGA in Germany since 2009. Early on DIT provided support with funding to exhibit there. 

“Our International Trade Adviser (ITA), Sue Tisdall, has been invaluable over the years providing timely input and support. DIT has carried out reports on markets, looking at specific territories to see if they were practical while recommending key people to speak to. We had a great report produced on Cyprus which led to us going out there to speak to potential distributors. 

“We have also been involved with trade missions and have hosted DIT staff from overseas in countries such as China. We have also attended an event in South Korea at the British Embassy promoting British luxury products. 

“If you’re looking to export, get in contact with DIT and start talking to an International Trade Adviser. They will be able to guide you to services and resources to get started."

Somerdale International based in Taunton was established 30 years ago in 1990 by directors Stephen Somerdale and Ernie Waldron. 

Prior to setting up the company, Stephen, previously a buyer for Sainsbury’s, noticed that countries like Holland and Denmark had already started exporting cheese at a greater rate than the UK and was confident the company could do more. 

Somerdale has experienced 7 – 8 % growth in the last year in all its overseas export markets, including a sale of over £2 million in both Malaysia and China in 2019/2020. In the United States, in the year to 31 March 2020, its sales reached US$25m, up 17% year on year and now represent around 20% of all UK cheese exports to America. 

Commenting on the growth in interest in its products, Stephen said: “In Asia we’ve seen an increasing interest in our products because the Western style diet is becoming more and more popular over there.

“In America, sweeter cheeses are popular, as well as Cheddar which is difficult to get over in the US as American cheese makers don’t tend to make it.”

The company has achieved impressive growth even during the Coronavirus pandemic, which Stephen puts down to the fact that in difficult times, people tend to buy more luxury items. 

Commenting on the advice the business has received from DIT he said: 

“No matter how much knowledge you have it is always useful to have extra support. Peter Norris, our International Trade Adviser (ITA) has kept us well informed of new initiatives, meaning we are always aware of opportunities to widen our sales through exporting to new markets. 

“He is the contact lead for events that are running internationally and has given us support in carrying out market research. A couple of years ago we were able to access funding to travel to the Far East which allowed us to expand our sales.

When asked about the advice he would give to companies thinking about exporting he said:

“Market research is really important and looking at trends to see if the country you are approaching is worthwhile. The support that we've received via the Export Trade Development Programme* has been invaluable to our business.

“DIT has been extremely helpful in supporting us to trade in Singapore and Malaysia through helping us to identify distributors. We’re also attending a seminar through DIT in February on exporting to Vietnam. My advice to companies thinking of exporting would be to contact DIT for support. You never know what doors might open.” 

To discuss your export options with one of DIT’s International Trade Advisers in the South West contact 01275 774 456 or visit www.great.gov.uk to find out about the range of support available and live export opportunities. 

DIT’s services in the South West are delivered by Business West. For further information, click here. 

* The Export Trade Development Programme is a European Regional Development Fund project.