Dairy Crest aims to bolster spreads business through whole grain innovation
Clover Seedburst, which was developed over a period of 18 months, will contain seed oils and a blend of sesame seeds, barley, linseeds, oats, wheat, rye and millet.
Through the development, which will be available in the UK from mid-July, Dairy Crest hopes to appeal to a more health-focused audience and believes the innovation will reinvigorate its butter and spreads business, which is currently worth around £1.3bn.
The announcement comes less than one week after Dairy Crest received a binding offer of more than €400m for its French spreads business, St Hubert.
Category growth
"As a new innovation, while we can't speak for others, we identified that the 'UK seeded and whole grain market presents a growing opportunity and research showed Clover Seedburst would appeal to a new audience of health motivated consumers'," a Dairy Crest spokesperson told DairyReporter.com.
"This product is a new innovation to the UK market."
According to the firm, innovation is key to category and brand growth, adding that Seedburst will provide a "new dimension" to the health category.
"Dairy Crest is continually investing in innovation and Clover Seedburst will attract new shoppers into the Clover brand (currently worth £99.7m), appealing to more health-focused consumers," added the spokesperson.
"With the great taste of Clover and 70% less saturated fat than butter, Clover Seedburst offers consumers a delicious way to feel good about what they are eating."
Spreads business sale
Just days ago, Dairy Crest received a binding offer for St Hubert of €430m from Paris-based Montagu Private Equity.
Dairy Crest purchased St Hubert in January 2007 for around £250m with the intention of building on the segment through a series of European acquisitions.
No acquisitions were forthcoming, and Dairy Crest decided that there would be greater value in its disposal.
When pressed on whether the Seedburst development was part of a pre-emptive effort to rebuild its spreads business following the St Hubert sale, Dairy Crest declined to respond.
