The Amish roll butter will be available in four flavors - Maplewood smoked, garlic herb, pumpkin spice and maple syrup, according to the company. The suggested retail price for the butter is $6.99 for eight ounces.
CEO of Minerva Dairy, Adam Mueller, told DairyReporter their new hand-wrapped roll butter contains 84% butterfat from local, pasture-raised cows.
“All new varieties will be small-batched churned, rBST-free, antibiotic-free, vegetarian and gluten free,” he said.
Batch-churned style of making artisan butter
Currently, Minerva Dairy produces artisan butter in two-pound rolls and quarter-pound sticks, with distribution in 47 states across the country, according to Mueller.
“The launch of the new Amish Roll butter will help the company reach new consumers, as well as entering new markets, such as small, local cheese shops that may not currently offer artisan butter.”
However, Mueller said that what differentiates Minerva Dairy from other butter producers is that it maintains its generations-old batch-churned style of making artisan butter.
“Each small batch is hand-churned… While additional water is added to the commodity butter, the texture of our butter is not modified and the flavor is genuine.”
Business expansion
Due to Minerva’s ability to produce more cream, the company plans to increase production of its artisan butter this year, according to Mueller.
“While the awareness of Minerva Dairy as well as our distribution in each market is strong, boosting production would allow us to add additional stock keeping units and retailers.”
The ultimate goal for Minerva this year is to increase its market share, and the amount of product it has on shelves, Mueller added.
In the meantime, Minerva has also spotted artisan wine and cheese shops as a new opportunity to serve consumers that enjoy crafted food, Mueller said.
“Minerva Dairy’s varieties of butter would surely fit well into their lifestyles. This will likely take effort to educate both the retailers and consumers of the benefits such an opportunity could bring them.”
Tradition will continue to rule butter market
As the plant-based spreads market is on the rise, Mueller believes that while this market may pose a threat to butter spreads and margarine, it does not threaten the market share of Minerva, because it caters to a different type of consumers.
The dairy industry, primarily the butter market, will see an increase in artisan products in the next 10 years, Mueller said.
“Tradition will continue to rule the butter market, highlighting brands that put process and ingredients first,” he said. “Contrastingly, the commodity butter market will continue to work to find ways to cut their prices in order to compete.”