Somerdale sees global sales up by 9%
Somerdale International, a UK exporter of British cheese and dairy products, has seen its turnover increase by 9% to £45.8 million (€53.8m), versus £42 million in 2020. It exports British cheese to over 50 countries worldwide, and the company reports it is a leading exporter of cheese to the US with shipments leaving for New York every week. The American sales have increased by 3% to $25.9 million (€22.1m).
It has also grown in markets such as China and the Far East, Europe, the Caribbean, and Australia and in emerging markets including the Middle East and North Africa and Southeast Asia.
The results demonstrate that, during the year Somerdale continued to perform strongly at a financial, commercial and operational level despite the unprecedented challenges of Covid-19, the UK’s leaving of the European Union and the impact, for nearly all of the year, of retaliatory tariffs imposed on British cheese entering the US market, the company says.
Trading conditions were good for the majority of the year with the Covid-19 pandemic only having a limited negative impact. Indeed, in most markets, the business benefitted from a surge in demand as lockdown restrictions gave rise to a renaissance in home cooking and entertaining at home, which in turn resulted in consumers purchasing more of Somerdale’s products through its retail distribution channels.
In the current financial year, the business is continuing to perform well despite a significant increase in freight and packaging costs, restricted shipping container availability and labour shortages.
In the last quarter of the financial year, Somerdale acquired the blended cheese business of Abergavenny Fine Foods (AFF). This included the transfer to Somerdale of AFF’s blended cheese processing assets, brands and associated trademarks. In doing so, this has reinforced Somerdale’s position as a supplier of blended cheese to over 30 countries across the globe and is enabling it to grow and develop a portfolio of blended cheeses developed specifically for the international marketplace.
