The change to the corporate brand will have no impact on Dairy Crest’s consumer-facing brands, including Cathedral City cheddar, Clover dairy spread, Country Life butter and Frylight cooking spray.
Tom Atherton, president and chief operating officer of Saputo Dairy UK said, “Since the acquisition completed in April, we have received resounding feedback from our employees that now is the time to rebrand the company, marking a new phase in our development as we integrate ourselves into the Saputo family.
“Cathedral City and our other market-leading brands have always been our prime focus, and that will remain the case. Our consumers will see no change to our much-loved products.”
Dairy Crest started in the 1960s when the Milk Marketing Board (MMB) began selling cheese and butter under the Dairy Crest name. In the 1980s The MMB's milk processing operation was spun off into a separate division called Dairy Crest which was the buyer of last resort for all surplus raw milk. The brand developed over time and became synonymous with liquid milk and milkmen as the doorstep business expanded.
In 2015 the company sold its dairies business, thereby marking the end of its longstanding association with liquid milk. On April 15, 2019, Saputo Inc. completed its acquisition of Dairy Crest.
For the time being, the name of the principal legal entity will remain Dairy Crest Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saputo Dairy UK Ltd.