Carbery Group is diversifying its cheese portfolio with the construction of a new €78 million manufacturing facility to extend its Ballineen site.
The Irish ingredients, flavours and cheese business says the investment will allow it to “diversify from its exclusive production of cheddar cheese into an expanded range of new cheese offerings.
This follows the increased market growth and consumer demand – particularly in Asia – for mozzarella and other cheese varieties in emerging markets.
The new production facility also signifies increased milk production capacity at the site, which will have the capacity to process 4 million litres of milk each day.
As a result, the operation will be one of the largest diversified cheese manufacturing sites in Europe.
With construction planned for completion in early 2020, Carbey said the investment will future-proof its capability to process all of the milk produced by its shareholders and farmer partners out to 2030 and beyond.
CEO Jason Hawkins said: “Product and market diversification has always been a core part of our business and ongoing strategy, with this project in the planning for almost two years.
“As a global organisation, we are constantly looking to international consumption trends to further grow our offering and our business.
“Cheese such as mozzarella provide us with a more diversified product range and an opportunity to build a stronger foothold in new and emerging cheese markets such as Asia and the Middle East, while also providing us with a new product range and market opportunities, in sectors such as foodservice.”
