Cheesemaker in supermarket contract win

SPECIALIST Yorkshire cheesemaker Shepherds Purse has won a contract to supply Waitrose with two of its cheeses following a successful trial.

The Thirsk-based company will supply the ewe's milk cheeses after they were trialled on the deli counter of 14 Yorkshire stores.

Olde York, a fresh ewe's milk cheese produced to a traditional recipe using an old French method of cheesemaking adopted by 18th century York monks, will be stocked in 60 Waitrose stores, whilst the company's Fine Fettle Yorkshire Cheese, previously known as Yorkshire Feta, will be on the deli counter of 134 supermarkets.

The traditionally handmade cheeses, both made with locally sourced ewe's milk, proved popular with customers and have been selected as part of the Waitrose commitment to source British suppliers wherever possible.

John Kerwin, sales director at Shepherds Purse Cheeses, said: “We are delighted to have secured this contract with Waitrose.

“We know that more British shoppers want to buy local food and are interested in a product's provenance, which can only be good news for artisan producers like ourselves, who focus on quality.

“We are making fantastic progress in supplying all the major multiples and to secure Waitrose is a great achievement. We have enjoyed extensive media exposure during our fight to keep our feta product, which sadly we lost to an EU directive last year, and no doubt this has elevated the cheese and encouraged customers to buy.”

Mark Himsworth, buyer service deli at Waitrose, said: “Our customers expect high quality products and are becoming increasingly interested in where our products come from, how they are produced and what materials they are made from.

“We are pleased, therefore, to launch Shepherds Purse cheeses onto our cheese counter and have no doubt that our customers will enjoy the products.”