What Shepherds Purse Cheeses does

Shepherds Purse Cheeses is a family-owned UK artisan cheesemaker founded in 1987 by Judy Bell MBE, headquartered at Leachfield Grange farm in Thirsk, North Yorkshire. The company produces ten distinct handcrafted cheeses across three milk types — cow's milk (Yorkshire Blue, Harrogate Blue, Northern Blue, Organic Yorkshire Blue), sheep milk (Mrs Bell's Blue, Olde York, Mrs Bell's Salad Cheese, Katy's White Lavender), and water buffalo milk (Buffalo Blue) — plus a mould-ripened variety (Bluemin White). Production relies on traditional methods: hand-salting, weekly hand-turning, manual spiking for blue vein development, and careful grading by a team of approximately 35 artisans. Fresh cow's milk is sourced daily from six local Yorkshire dairy farms, with specialty long-standing partnerships for buffalo and sheep milk supply.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid distribution model. Direct-to-consumer e-commerce via a Shopify-based shepherdspurse.co.uk storefront (UK mainland delivery, free over £50, sustainable WoolCool packaging) is complemented by an independent retail stockist network — farm shops, delis, cheesemongers, and selected supermarkets — plus a dedicated corporate gifting program for orders of 10 to 500+ units. Pricing spans £4.45–£8.50 for individual cheeses and £25–£80 for curated gift boxes, with gift cards from £25 to £200 and accompaniments (crackers, chutneys, honey, cheeseboards) sold alongside. The company sells exclusively within mainland UK with no international shipping currently offered.

Customer segments include artisan cheese enthusiasts, cow's milk allergy consumers (the founding mission), corporate and business buyers, direct-to-consumer retail shoppers, and wholesale stockists. Marketing operates across email (newsletter with 10% first-order incentive), organic social (Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest), content (recipe blog and pairing guides), customer reviews (Judge.me with 795+ reviews and 4.83–4.98 star ratings), and SEO. The business remains privately held by the Bell family, with no external investment, and has earned over 75 international awards for Mrs Bell's Blue alone, Harrogate Blue being ranked 11th best cheese in the world at the 2017 World Cheese Awards.

Name

Shepherds Purse Cheeses

Legal name

Shepherds Purse Cheeses Ltd.

Website

https://shepherdspurse.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Shepherds Purse Cheeses is a family-owned UK artisan cheesemaker producing award-winning handcrafted cow's, sheep's, and water buffalo milk cheeses, selling via DTC e-commerce, independent UK stockists, and a corporate gifting program to consumers and businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisan Cheese Production

NAICS

Specialty Food Retailers (4452), Other Specialty Food Retailers (44529)

SIC

Dairy Products (2020)

akta.pro primary industry

Ripened Natural Cheese Manufacturing (Semi-Soft, Hard & Blue) (AFAHABAB)

Keywords

• Artisan cheese production
• Handcrafted blue cheese
• Sheep milk cheese
• Buffalo milk cheese
• Corporate cheese gifting

Headquarters

HQ city

Thirsk

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Cheese Sales: Direct-to-consumer online sales of individual cheeses and cheese selections, with free delivery on orders over £50 and delivery on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays to mainland UK.
2. Gift Box Sales: Curated gift selections including 'A Bit of Blue', 'Kiss & Squeeze', 'Love Ewe: The Box', and 'Taste of Yorkshire' ranges at various price points from £25 to £80.
3. Accompaniments: Sales of complementary products including crackers, chutneys, honey, biscuits, and cheeseboards from local producers.
4. Gift Cards: Digital gift cards available in denominations of £25, £50, £75, £100, £150, and £200, with email delivery and scheduled delivery options.
5. Corporate Gifting: Bulk corporate orders for client gifts, staff thank-yous, Christmas gifts, and business events with personalized messages and branded options.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Shepherds Purse Cheeses is a family-run artisan cheesemaker that handcrafts a range of award-winning cheeses from cow's, sheep, and water buffalo milk on its farm in North Yorkshire. Its portfolio of 10 distinct cheeses (blue-veined, mould-ripened, and soft white styles) is sold direct-to-consumer via its own online shop, distributed through independent farm shops, delis, cheesemongers and selected supermarkets, and offered as curated gift selections and corporate gifts. The company also retails complementary accompaniments (crackers, chutneys, honey, fruit cake), accessories (beeswax wraps, oak cheeseboards), and digital gift cards.

Product overview

Shepherds Purse Cheeses is an artisan cheese company operating as a single unified product offering (handcrafted cheeses) rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core product portfolio consists of 10 distinct cheese products including blue vein cheeses (Yorkshire Blue, Organic Yorkshire Blue, Harrogate Blue, Northern Blue, Mrs Bell's Blue, Buffalo Blue), mould-ripened cheese (Bluemin White), and soft white/sheep milk cheeses (Olde York, Mrs Bell's Salad Cheese, Katy White Lavender). These are complemented by gift selections (pre-curated tasting boxes in multiple tiers including Classic, Premium, and Deluxe), accompaniments (crackers, chutneys, honey, fruit cake), accessories (cheese boards, beeswax wraps), and corporate gifting services. The company also offers gift cards and a click-and-collect service from their farm.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Olde York Soft white sheep milk cheese made using the coulommier method with a delicate texture, waxed to preserve fresh flavour. Slices easily from the fridge or becomes creamy and spreadable at room temperature.
• Yorkshire Blue Creamy, sweet and mild cow's milk blue cheese, presented as an ideal introduction to blue cheese. Matured over eight weeks with hand turning for blue veining.
• Mrs Bell's Blue Creamy mellow sheep milk blue cheese with a whiter body contrasting against blue/green veins, offering a complex blue flavour comparable to Roquefort but creamier. Matured minimum 10 weeks with hand salting.
• Mrs Bell's Salad Cheese Bright, tangy sheep's milk cheese with Mediterranean style, offering a fresh, tangy and crumbly texture made with whole ewe's milk. Hand-salted and matured with lemony freshness.
• Katy's White Lavender Delicate sheep milk cheese rolled in dried lavender flowers and matured over several weeks. Subtle floral notes are infused into a creamy, crumbly cheese.
• Bluemin White Rich, creamy and versatile mould-ripened cheese that ripens gently from the outside in with a velvety blue rind and unctuous centre. Not spiked, so no blue veins. Develops a rich, nutty flavour and melt-in-the-mouth texture.
• Harrogate Blue Rich, bold and creamy blue cheese with a hint of pepper on the finish. Golden-bodied and luxuriously moist, matured for a minimum of 10 weeks.
• Northern Blue Strong, steely and sweet blue cheese, the strongest in the artisan range. Robust blue cheese with a rich and luxuriously creamy texture; aged a minimum of 10 weeks.
• Organic Yorkshire Blue Creamy, sweet, herbaceous and mild organic blue cheese made with organic cow's milk from Acorn Organic Dairy near Darlington. Features grassy notes balanced with umami blue flavours.
• Buffalo Blue Smooth and creamy blue cheese made from the highest quality milk from the British single herd of Italian water buffalo. Well-balanced blue flavour with a creamy yet light effect on the palate; made in small batches.
• A Bit of Blue (Gift Selection) Most popular gift selection featuring four award-winning blue cheeses plus Fig and Honey preserve, offered at £25.
• Kiss & Squeeze (Gift Selection) Gift selection at £37.50 with a variety of cheeses and accompaniments.
• Love Ewe: The Box (Gift Selection) Gift selection at £40 showcasing sheep milk cheeses including Mrs Bell's Blue, Mrs Bell's Salad Cheese, Katy's White Lavender, Olde York, plus crackers and chutney.
• Taste of Yorkshire - Classic Selection Classic selection of Yorkshire cheeses at £50, suitable for family gatherings and cheeseboards.
• Taste of Yorkshire - Premium Selection Premium selection of Yorkshire cheeses at £60 with higher-end varieties.
• Taste of Yorkshire - Deluxe Selection Deluxe selection at £80 for cheese connoisseurs, featuring the finest varieties.
• Peter's Yard Fig & Spelt Sourdough Crackers Crispbreads inspired by Swedish style with organic flour, sourdough fermented 16 hours, and fig pieces; particularly well paired with blue cheeses.
• Lottie Shaw's Traditional Fruit Cake Nut-free fruit cake hand-crafted in a Yorkshire bakery; moist, rich and indulgent, ideal accompaniment to blue and salad cheeses.
• Rosebud Preserves Red Onion & Port Marmalade Red onion and port marmalade preserves, designed as a pairing for blue cheeses.
• Shaw's Fig & Honey Chutney Fig and honey chutney from Shaw's, complementary to cheese selections.
• Annabel's Deliciously British Yorkshire Blossom Honey Local Yorkshire blossom honey, designed as a pairing for cheeseboards.
• Beeswax Cheese Wraps Natural beeswax wraps for preserving cheese—a reusable and sustainable alternative to plastic wrap.
• Handcrafted Oak Cheeseboard Handcrafted oak cheeseboard specially designed to display cheeses, made by local artisan Stuart.
• Gift Card Digital gift cards available in denominations of £25, £50, £75, £100, £150, and £200, with email delivery and the ability to schedule delivery for special occasions.
• Corporate Cheese Gifts Corporate cheese hampers and gift boxes for client gifting, staff thank-yous, Christmas gifts, and business events, featuring award-winning Yorkshire cheeses with artisan crackers and accompaniments, available in bulk orders of 10 to 500+ gifts.

Quantifiable outcome

• Harrogate Blue ranked 11th best cheese in the world at World Cheese Awards 2017
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bob & Sam Palmer (Water Buffalo Herd)coreOthersBob and Sam Palmer operate a single herd of Italian water buffalo. They supply small batches of buffalo milk to Shepherds Purse every two weeks for the production of Buffalo Blue cheese, a partnership that began in the 1990s when Judy Bell was approached to experiment with buffalo milk for cheesemaking.
• Simon (Sheep's Milk Supplier)coreOthersSimon supplies fresh sheep's milk once a week to Shepherds Purse. He won the Sheep Farmer of the Year award in 2011, and his flock grazes in Lancashire, with additional milk sourced from other farms within his co-operative.
• Acorn Organic Dairy (Caroline and Graham)coreOthersCaroline and Graham from Acorn Organic Dairy near Darlington supply organic milk used specifically for Organic Yorkshire Blue cheese production.
• Six Local Dairy FarmscoreOthersSix local dairy farms supply fresh cow's milk daily to Shepherds Purse for cheese production.
• Local Farmer (Whey Collection)minorOthersA local farmer collects whey from the cheesemaking process and repurposes it to generate electricity through an anaerobic digester, a sustainable partnership that ensures every part of the milk has purpose.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Neal's Yard Dairy: London-based leading British artisan cheese retailer, affineur, and wholesaler sourcing from multiple UK farmhouse producers. Comparable to Shepherds Purse's distribution channel as a key stockist and category leader in UK artisan cheese retail and gifting.
• Paxton & Whitfield: Heritage British cheesemonger and retailer (royal warrants) operating stores and DTC, sourcing and selling artisan cheeses including blues. Comparable to Shepherds Purse on premium positioning and DTC gifting, though primarily a retailer rather than producer.

Direct peers

• Isle of Mull Cheese: Single-farm Scottish artisan cheese producer (Hebridean Blue and others) with strong DTC and UK wholesale. Comparable to Shepherds Purse as a small-scale, award-winning, single-farm artisan cheesemaker.
• Wensleydale Creamery: Yorkshire-based heritage cheese producer specializing in Wensleydale (including blue variants) with DTC e-commerce, corporate gifting, and visitor center. Comparable to Shepherds Purse on regional British artisan positioning, blue cheese category, DTC model, and family/heritage branding.
• Long Clawson Dairy: One of the UK's best-known Stilton and Blue cheese producers, operating as a cooperative of local dairy farmers in Leicestershire. Directly comparable to Shepherds Purse as a multi-decade British artisan blue-cheese maker with wholesale, foodservice, and retail distribution.
• Cropwell Bishop Creamery: Nottinghamshire-based Stilton maker with a long artisan heritage, supplying premium retailers, foodservice, and exporters. Comparable to Shepherds Purse as a UK premium blue cheese manufacturer with retail and wholesale channels.
• Bath Soft Cheese Company: Family-run Somerset artisan cheese producer offering a multi-SKU range of soft, blue, and washed-rind cheeses via DTC and wholesale. Comparable to Shepherds Purse on family ownership, handcrafted UK cheese production, and multi-channel artisan positioning.
• Colston Bassett Dairy: Small Nottinghamshire cooperative producing award-winning Stilton from local milk, with strong deli and farm shop distribution. Comparable to Shepherds Purse as a small-batch, award-driven British blue cheese maker with similar channel mix.
• Montgomery's Cheese: Somerset-based traditional cheddar maker with deep heritage, small-batch production, and premium stockist distribution. Comparable to Shepherds Purse on handcrafted UK artisan cheesemaking, premium positioning, and stockist-led wholesale channel.
• Quicke's Traditional: Devon-based traditional farmhouse cheddar maker with multi-generation family heritage, on-site maturing, e-commerce DTC, and farm shop. Comparable to Shepherds Purse on family-owned, handcrafted British cheese, DTC channel, and premium positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/shepherdspurse
• Facebookfacebook.com/shepherdspursecheeses
• Instagraminstagram.com/shepherdspurse
• Pinterestpinterest.com/shepherdspurse

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shepherds Purse Cheeses