Ornua from the Irish "Ór Nua" meaning "new gold" is an Irish agri-food cooperative, which markets and sells dairy products on behalf of its members: Irish dairy processors and Irish dairy farmers. The co-operative is Ireland’s largest exporter of Irish dairy products and owns the Kerrygold butter and cheese brand as well as Kerrygold Irish Cream Liqueur. In conjunction to the Kerrygold brand, its brand portfolio consists of Pilgrims Choice, Dubliner, Shannongold, and BEO milk powder. On 31 March 2015, Ornua transformed its corporate identity from the Irish Dairy Board to Ornua: "The Home of Irish Dairy".
History
The Irish Dairy Board was established by an act of the Oireachtas, the Dairy Produce Marketing Act 1961, and replaced the earlier Butter Marketing Committee. It was created to centralise the overseas marketing of Irish dairy products to achieve economies of scale and greater brand recognition. At the time of the Board's creation, the European Economic Community's market was closed to Irish butter, and the United Kingdom market limited Irish imports by an import quota. The name Kerrygold was selected to evoke "farming, naturalness, goodness and above all quality milk" as well as a sense of Irishness. In October 1962, the Board successfully test-launched the Kerrygold brand in the Winterhill area of North West England. When Ireland joined the EEC in 1973, the Board began expanding its presence to continental Europe, beginning with the North Rhine-Westphalia state of Germany. By 1982, Kerrygold had national distribution in Germany.
Today
Currently, Ornua operates from 19 subsidiaries worldwide, with pre-packing and blending facilities located in Germany, Great Britain, the United States and the Middle East. A €36m state-of-the-art Kerrygold butter production and packing plant has been constructed in Mitchelstown, County Cork Kerrygold is the second highest-selling butter in the United States and the highest-selling butter in Ireland as of 2019.
Awards
The Irish Dairy Board was awarded Exporter of the Year by the Irish Exporters in 2010.
