Blog: A global market for British dairy

The past couple of years have been challenging, with many of us having to adapt and find new ways of working. No more so than for our Export team who had to wait until this year before they could start travelling again. Lucy Randolph, our senior exports manager (dairy), explains more.

The easing of restrictions has enabled the Export team to get back to what we do best – promoting the best of British dairy to buyers across the world.

Not that we have been resting on our laurels. The appointment of representatives in key international markets such as China and the USA helps coordinate and lead our in-country export activity and has proven hugely valuable given recent limitations.

Paul Blake joined as our North American Agent in October to help UK dairy exporters crack the all-important Canadian and US markets.

With more than 36 years’ experience in the specialty cheese business in Canada, his knowledge and expertise are already helping to build our presence on the other side of the Atlantic.

Our first outing in March saw key foodservice distributors attending a cheese and whisky tasting in Beverly Hills. It gave an opportunity to showcase traditional UK cheeses – Cheddar, Red Leicester, Shropshire Blue – alongside more artisan varieties that are less well known in America such as Cornish Yarg and Renegade Monk, a washed rind cheese.

This was swiftly followed by the debut of SIAL in Las Vegas, which is the only generalist food and beverage industry event in the USA. Visitor numbers were healthy with many of the key retailers and importers attending along with independents and small delis. We were able to collaborate with Scottish Dairy, Scottish Development International, and the Department for International Trade.

At Easter, Paul helped to arrange a four-week, in-store promotion of British cheese with specialty food retailer Deningers, which has stores across Canada. As well as driving awareness, the initiative saw a 40% uplift in sales of our cheese.

Looking further around the globe, Asia is a vast and diverse region, offering a multitude of opportunities for dairy exporters. Hong Kong saw rapid growth in the latter half of the twentieth century and now has matured markets with wealthy consumers and high spend.

Key Hong Kong influencers took the opportunity to sample the ‘Great British Cheese Showcase’ at an in-person tasting event in October 2021. Invitations were sent to select food professionals and chefs across the country who are looking to source quality cheese.

The event resulted in a number of new enquiries for exporters looking to develop future business opportunities. Everyone enjoyed the cheeses on offer and there was a preference for more sophisticated varieties.

In November, dairy exporters joined us in the British Pavilion at one of Asia’s most prominent shows, FHC China. With influential trade visitors attending, the strong UK presence at the show enabled exporters to collaborate with key decision-makers in China and Asia and help grow our exports to this all-important market.

Closer to home, we returned to Gulfood in Dubai, which saw a record number of dairy exporters from the UK meet with potential buyers in the Middle East.

This year’s show attracted thousands of visitors with more than 4,000 companies exhibiting in the 21 halls of food exploration. We were joined by six dairy exporters from the UK, who were able to showcase their high-quality dairy products to thousands of visitors.

The Middle East is one of the key markets that we focus on as we know there is great potential for growth and we’re seeing increased demand for our cheese.

Trust and providence are vital characteristics for overseas buyers, and Gulfood gave us a platform to trial our virtual reality cheesemaking experience, which we’ve been developing over recent months.

Using a virtual reality headset, visitors to our stand immersed themselves in the cheese manufacturing process, all the way from cow to finished product. As well as developing understanding, this experience gives overseas buyers reassurance about the care and dedication that goes into making quality cheese from Britain.

Over the coming months, we’ll continue our work with the British government and processors to facilitate trading opportunities that bring value for levy payers. And we will showcase British produce at international trade fairs, providing British exporters with a platform to meet potential clients, develop existing relationships and share the best of British products with a global audience.