Cheese Buyer - May 2025

44 SOUTH CAERNARFON CREAMERIES W e’ve just wrapped up a transformative 18- month period at South Caernarfon Creameries with major site developments totalling £25 million. The expansion includes two key projects: Project Dragon, which focused on our core production capacity—adding new cheese lines, a whey processing facility, upgraded utilities and a new cleaning facility—and Project Evolve, a £2 million investment in a cutting-edge high-speed @specialityfood A new era dawns for South Caernarfon Creameries, says new operations director James Knowlson “A HUGE STEP FORWARD” portioning line. Thanks to these upgrades, we’ve increased our prepack volumes by 50% and made significant gains in efficiency and product quality. It’s a huge step forward for us as a co-operative. These investments futureproof our operations and give us the tools to grow our branded and own-label offerings, as well as improve how we serve our existing retail and foodservice partners. We’re not just expanding—we’re innovating and doing so in a way that supports our farmer members by generating more value from the milk they produce. This marks the beginning of our next chapter as we’re building a more agile, data-driven, and people-focused operational culture. Our new facilities allow us to develop more advanced products, scale up capacity, and compete at a much higher level in UK and export markets—all while staying rooted in our mission as a Welsh farmer- owned co-op. From a commercial perspective, we’re now able to offer greater flexibility, faster turnaround times, and even better consistency across our range. For buyers, that means a more reliable supply of premiumWelsh cheese products, whether in branded, own-label, or foodservice formats. Innovation like the dairy-first flow wrap stacking system also means we’re able to reduce RSI risks for staff, improve presentation on shelf, and deliver smarter packaging solutions that meet the changing needs of retail. We’re really proud that all of this is happening right here in rural North Wales. These investments aren’t just about business growth – they support jobs, skills and community resilience in our region. As we look ahead, we’re excited to keep driving quality, sustainability, and innovation for our members, our customers, and the wider industry. We’re excited to keep driving quality, sustainability, and innovation for our members, our customers, and the wider industry