Butter on the Rise in UK

Related tags Butter

In recent years UK butter sales have been on the increase and as a
result of this Lurpak's original brand of butter has become more
popular. Its producer, Arla Foods, says that Lurpak Lighter
Spreadable growth in sales has resulted in a good year for Lurpak
as a whole.

Lurpak Lighter Spreadable, the low fat spread from Arla Foods, has witnessed an increase in popularity in the UK market and as a result the Lurpak range now holds 40 per cent of the UK's spreadable sector. This news reflects the increase of butter spreads in the UK.

The Arla Foods' report which was presented at the general meeting of Butterdone, the dairy group's sales company, revealed that the increase sales of Lurpak Lighter Spreadable is one of the underlying factors for the brands successful financial year. The company claims that there has been an increasing consumer demand for reduced fat products. It added that customers enjoy the flavour of the Lurpak range, and this has kept it popular in the marketplace.

In recent years consumers have opted for spreads that do not contain butter. Spreadable Lighter for instance does not contain butter and is made wholly from non-butter ingredients. Health issues regarding fat intake have resulted in a drop in sales of butter spreads in the UK. This left the market open for non-butter spreads to dominate.

In 2001 for example, Lurpak's Spreadable, out sold Lurpak by four to one. This implied that consumers were moving away from the traditional butter spread and opted for a lighter alternative. Arla Foods' report has shown that butter sales are on the rise and alternative spreads are successful in the company's range.

The report indicates that in 2002 the consumption of butter increased by 11 per cent. Sales of Lurpak Lighter Spreadable rose by 17 per cent last year and Lurpak Spreadable achieved 16 per cent growth. 39,900 tons of Lurpak was sold in the UK in 2002/03 which represents one third of total Lurpak exports, thus making the UK the largest market for the spread.

The renaissance of Lurpak butter in Europe is thought to have been helped by the new type of packaging that has been employed. Lurpak's six 50 gram packs that were first introduced in the Middle Eastern market, which is the second largest market for Lurpak goods.

Butterdane's turnover for 2002/03 increased by DKK 54 million to DKK 2.27 billion on the year. Profits for the year fell by DKK 9 million to 24.2 million.

Related topics Markets Butters & Spreads

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