Major listings deals secured by cheese producer

North Yorkshire cheesemaker Shepherds Purse has secured listings at Morrisons and Booths supermarkets for  its new format feta-style cheese – Fettle.

The business recently threw a lifeline to its struggling sheep milk farmers affected by the pandemic by fast tracking the launch of the product.

Yorkshire’s version of feta, a Mediterranean salad style cheese handmade with whole ewes’ milk,  will be stocked in 65 Morrisons supermarkets across Yorkshire and 18 Booths stores in the region from this week.

Shepherds Purse says it is also in talks with other retailers who are working hard to get the product listed to help the sheep milk farming industry survive the devastating impact of Covid-19 on their livelihoods.

The cheesemaker has also seen strong support to stock the product from its wide independent customer base across Yorkshire and the whole of the UK.

Caroline Bell, managing director of Shepherds Purse, said: “We are delighted to announce the first listings of our new format Fettle cheese with Morrisons, Booths and through our independent customer base and we’re hopeful that it will give our sheep milk farmers confidence to keep producing.

“We have also been able to un-furlough some of our staff to produce the cheese, which is great news in these uncertain and challenging times.

“The recent virtual #British Cheese Weekender proved a great success and we are delighted with the support we have received not only from retailers in stocking the product, but from the general public in our fight to help the sheep milk farming sector.”

Simon Stott, of Sheep Milk UK, said: “We’re blown away with the support so far, we’re still far from secure and we have much more work to do, but the launch of Fettle and the speed at which retailers are listing it is brilliant and gives our farmers confidence to hang in there.”

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