FOOD MAN TALKS

Somerdale director on Abergavenny Fine Foods deal and Brexit

13-Jan-2021 - Last updated on 15-Jan-2021 at 16:37 GMT

Jenkins: export plans to include North America, the Far East and Australia

Related tags Supply chain Regulation Dairy Finance

Alan Jenkins, Somerdale International's director responsible for North America exports explains what the acquisition of Abergavenny Fine Foods's (AFF's) blended cheese assets means for his business and outlines the impact of Brexit.

In this exclusive podcast, Jenkins went into more detail about the assets purchased in the deal, including all AFF's blended cheese brands, which was announced on 12 January. The move followed AFF's announcement in December 2020 that it was pulling out of its blended cheese operations.

"For the past 30 years Somerdale has been working with Abergavenny in partnership. We have been exporting their cheeses and Abergavenny has been producing some cheeses for Somerdale. So, when we were talking about where the future lies and where Abergavenny's future wanted to be, it made natural sense for us to pick up those brands and secure our future and bring Somerdale more in depth into British cheese and exporting them all round the world."

Jenkins said Somerdale also worked in the UK with longstanding Cheddar producer AJ & RG Barber, Joseph Heler and Stilton maker Cropwell Bishop Creamery.

Recipes and trademarks also formed part of the acquisition.

Somerdale's export business

Jenkins said Somerdale's export business focused on retail and its North American customers included Whole Foods Market, which it had worked with for the past 10 years.

Over the next 2-3 years, Somerdale's exports development plan would look not just at North America, but with the Far East, including China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, and Australia.

Listen to more of the podcast to discover the impact of Brexit so far on Somerdale's export business and on its raw material imports.