First Milk and Adams Foods announce partnership

The boards of Adams Foods, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of cheese, and First Milk, the largest British farmer-owned dairy co-operative, have announced that they have entered into a long term strategic partnership. The partnership will establish a fully integrated supply chain for hard cheese in the UK retail, foodservice and wholesale sectors.

As part of the partnership, Adams Foods will utilise its facility at Leek in Staffordshire, UK to cut, pack and market 50,000 tonnes of hard cheese, including branded cheddars, produced at First Milk’s Lake District and Haverfordwest creameries. Adams Foods will take on the business for the sales and marketing of this cheese to British retail, foodservice and wholesale customers. First Milk will continue to manage the sales and marketing of its cheddars to export markets.

First Milk will receive a competitive price for the cheese, with the partnership also facilitating significant additional investment at First Milk’s creameries.

Following the announcement Dr Judith Bryans, chief executive of Dairy UK, says, “We welcome all investment in the dairy industry and today’s announcement demonstrates the commitment by companies within a progressive dairy sector to work collaboratively and creatively.This strategic partnership epitomises the fact that the UK dairy industry is willing to embrace change and adaptability as companies endeavour to deliver their best for consumers and stakeholders.”