It is not every CEO that ventures out of the boardroom to go to a supermarket and stand beside a chilled display cabinet to find out what consumers really think of a product – but when it comes to Kerrygold, normal rules tend not to apply.
Last year more than 12 million retail packs of Kerrygold butter and cheese were sold every week throughout the world and according to latest figures the brand also reached “a record number of US households” in 2024.
By the end of 2024 Kerrygold was the number two branded butter in the US and the number “two block butter brand” and the fastest-growing brand in the category in the UK, while in Germany it was the number one butter brand in the market.
None of this, according to Conor Galvin, the CEO of Ornua which owns the Kerrygold brand – and a man who stands in stores “asking consumers why they buy Kerrygold and what they use it for” – is any accident.
“Kerrygold is 60 years old, it does take patience in terms of developing markets and even in the US market, it has taken us around 20 years to get to where we are,” he said.
According to Galvin when he asks US consumers why they buy the Kerrygold brand their “faces light up”.
“It is a unique product in the US market, the experience of Kerrygold both in the appearance of it and in the performance of it – whatever you are using it for – is different to practically anything else you can buy in the US.
“We’re very lucky to have a consumer that is so loyal,” Galvin said.
But the CEO of Ornua is also very clear that there is one key ingredient that is fundamental to the success of Kerrygold in the US and that is Irish farmers.
“Dairy farmers give us the fuel that we use to make the product, the grass fed milk that is skimmed, gives us the cream that we churn in Kerrygold Park and it really is the essence of the brand and that is how the product is unique,” Galvin added.
He is also very clear about why it is so important to ensure that consumers not just in the US but on a global scale continue to remain loyal to the Kerrygold brand.
“Our purpose is to give a livelihood to Irish farm families and that is what all 2,800 people in Ornua are focused on doing.
“For Ornua, the focus remains on value growth and ensuring we maximise the return for every litre of milk,” he said.
The co-op’s annual report for 2024 shows that Ornua purchased more than €2 billion “premium Irish dairy products” last year and also delivered an Ornua Value Payment of €72.8 million for the year, made up of cash bonuses and additional premiums paid to its member co-ops.
According to Galvin Irish dairy “remains a unique proposition” – and one that not just US consumers are loyal to but one that “the world wants”.
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