UK-based Dairy Crest says that its key brands - Cathedral City, Clover, Country Life and Frylight - delivered revenue growth of 7% in the first nine months of the year.
The dairy group added that revenue in the first three quarters, ending 31 December 2017, was 'well ahead' of last year, and its outlook for the full year remains in line with expectations.
Dairy Crest added that Cathedral City cheese, in particular, delivered another good quarter, while its spreads brands, including Clover, Utterly Butterly, Vitalite and Willow, continued to gain market share.
It noted that growth in Frylight remains strong, driven by a 'significant increase' in the number of distribution points across the UK, however, Country Life volumes came under pressure from the rise in cream costs over the last year.
Continuing Growth
"We have seen strong growth across our key brands, with Cathedral City, Clover and Frylight performing well and all of our spreads brands increasing market share," said Mark Allen, chief executive of Dairy Crest.
Allen added that the group is continuing to build the customer base for its functional ingredients business, which includes demineralised whey powder and galacto-oligosaccharide.
He said that this unit will be discussed "in greater detail" when Dairy Crest issues its full-year preliminary results in May.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
