Prima Cheese

Name

Prima Cheese

Legal name

Prima Cheese Ltd

Website

https://primacheese.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cheese Processing / Dairy Ingredients

NAICS

Cheese Manufacturing (311513), Dairy Product (except Frozen) Manufacturing (31151), Dairy Product Manufacturing (3115)

SIC

Dairy Products (2020), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Cheese Blending & Formulation (Retail & Foodservice Blends) (AFAHABAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Grated, Shredded & Sliced Cheese Manufacturing (Value-Added Cuts) (AFAHABAF), Cheese Packaging & Portioning (Retail Packs, Snack Packs, Singles) (AFAHABAI), Cheese Manufacturing (AFAKAKAB), Cheese (Natural & Processed) (CRADACAC)

Keywords

• Cheese processing services
• Foodservice dairy supply
• Private label cheese
• Cheese format manufacturing
• Export cheese distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Seaham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Cheese product manufacturing and distribution: Prima Cheese processes cheese into shredded, grated, diced, sliced, and block formats and sells directly to foodservice operators, food manufacturers, and through distributors/wholesalers. Revenue is generated from product sales with bespoke/quote-based pricing for B2B contracts. The company also offers a co-packing (private label) service.
2. Private Label / Co-packing Service: The company processes, packages and distributes cheese products with the customer's own branded labels, offering an in-house design service for private label branding.
3. Kerrymaid branded products (Chilled Basket): Prima distributes Kerrymaid Cheddar Cheese Sauce and Kerrymaid Buttery Soft Spread alongside its own Prima products as part of its chilled basket export range.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Prima Cheese processes and supplies cheese in a range of engineered formats (grated, shredded, diced, sliced, string, block, and the innovative CORTO 4mm cut) to the UK foodservice industry, food manufacturers, and export markets across 50+ countries. The company produces proprietary blend recipes including NOVA (value), Prima Blend (premium), and Elite 80/20 (full-dairy), as well as long-life British Cheddar blocks, Burger Slices, and distributed Kerrymaid sauces and spreads. It also offers private label co-packing, processing and packaging products under customer-branded labels, supported by BRCGS AA+ and Halal certifications.

Product overview

Prima Cheese is a UK-based cheese processing company offering a diverse portfolio of cheese products and formats for foodservice and food manufacturing markets. Their core offerings include NOVA (value blend), Prima Blend (premium), and Elite 80/20 (full-dairy) cheese products. They process cheese in multiple formats: Grated, Shredded, Diced, String, Block, and the innovative CORTO 4mm cut. Their product tiers (Pure, High, Mid, Eco) provide options across quality and price points. Co-packed products include Kerrymaid Cheddar Cheese Sauce and Buttery Soft Spread. Product bundles like the Cheesy Double Range and Chilled Basket Range combine complementary products. The company also offers private labelling and co-packing services through their dedicated IT-supported in-house design service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NOVA: A value blend cheese product designed for mixing with premium cheeses to deliver real savings without sacrificing quality.
• Prima
• CORTO

Products and services

• NOVA Value Blend A value blend cheese product designed for mixing with premium Prima Blend or full-dairy Elite products to extend stock and control costs while maintaining quality performance. Features CORTO Shred (4mm) format with a 66% cheese enhancing composition and a subtle cheddar flavour, targeted at foodservice operators and food manufacturers seeking cost-efficient cheese ingredients.
• CORTO 4mm Cut Format An innovative 4mm cut cheese format engineered for faster melt, fuller coverage, and less waste, designed for artisan pizza applications in commercial kitchens.
• Prima Burger Slices 2.0 Cheese slices engineered for burgers and food service, featuring easy-peel technology, rich creamy flavour, and consistent melt performance. Non-GMO, gluten-free, vegetarian, and halal certified, packaged at eight sleeves per pack.
• Prima Blend Premium cheese blend serving as Prima's flagship product, recognised for high stretch, consistency, and quality performance in foodservice applications such as pizza.
• Elite 80/20 Full-dairy cheese product offering authentic taste with functional stability, suitable for premium applications requiring natural blistering and stretch characteristics.
• Prima Long-Life Cheese Blocks Extended shelf-life (12 months) British Cheddar blocks made from high-quality British Cheddar, available in 2.5kg and 5kg sizes for versatile slicing, grating, and shredding applications in foodservice and export markets.
• Kerrymaid Cheddar Cheese Sauce Rich and creamy cheddar cheese sauce distributed by Prima, palm oil-free, gluten-free, and halal certified. Ready-to-use 1kg format stable for Bain Marie, Merry Chef, and microwave applications, sold primarily through export channels.
• Kerrymaid Buttery Soft Spread Rich buttery spread distributed by Prima for multiple cooking, baking, and frying applications, gluten-free and suitable for vegans and vegetarians, sold primarily through export channels.
• Grated Cheese Format Fine, fast-melting cheese format suitable for sauces, pasta, and light toppings in commercial kitchens.
• Shredded Cheese Format Pizza classic cheese format providing even coverage and stretch characteristics for traditional pizza applications.
• Diced Cheese Format Chunky cheese format suited for salads, bakes, hearty fillings, and spot-melt applications.
• String Cheese Format Long, pull-apart cheese format ideal for stuffed crust pizzas and similar applications.
• Block Cheese Format Versatile cheese format allowing slicing, shredding, or cubing for maximum flexibility across varied kitchen workflows.
• Cheesy Double Range Product pairing combining Prima Burger Slices with Kerrymaid Premium Cheddar Cheese Sauce for enhanced melty applications in gourmet burgers, creamy pastas, loaded nachos, and dirty fries.
• Chilled Basket Export Range Export-focused product bundle combining Prima Burger Slices, Prima Long-Life Blocks, Kerrymaid Cheddar Cheese Sauce, and Kerrymaid Buttery Soft Spread, designed to optimise logistics and provide versatile kitchen solutions for international customers.
• Private Label and Co-packing Service Service that processes, packages and distributes cheese products under the customer's own branded labels, including an in-house design service for private label branding, targeted at brand owners and food manufacturers seeking outsourced cheese production.

Quantifiable outcome

• Turnover grew 5% to £108.9 million for the 52 weeks ending March 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Kerrymaid (from Kerry Group)coreOthers · 24 July 2025Prima distributes Kerrymaid Cheddar Cheese Sauce and Kerrymaid Buttery Soft Spread as part of its Chilled Basket export range. These products complement Prima's own cheese products, offering customers a more comprehensive dairy solutions range.
• Department for Work and Pensions / Job Centre PlusminorOthers · 1 January 2020A partnership with Job Centre Plus and the Department for Work and Pensions saw Prima host employability training for out-of-work local people, resulting in the hiring of new recruits. This community initiative supports local employment.
• European Dairy Producers (cheese suppliers)coreOthers · 1 January 2009Since 1998, Prima has worked directly with dairy giants and cheese innovators in Europe to source high-quality cheese and analogue products. These supplier partnerships are foundational to Prima's ability to produce consistent, high-quality cheese blends.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Glanbia plc: Irish global nutrition and cheese ingredients group with a cheese solutions business serving foodservice and food manufacturers across Europe and internationally. Comparable as a B2B cheese ingredient supplier with international footprint, though materially larger and more diversified.
• Leprino Foods: World's largest mozzarella producer and the dominant supplier of pizza cheese to global foodservice chains. Closest direct peer to Prima — same end-customers (pizza QSR, foodservice), same value-added cheese processing model, and similar blend engineering capabilities, but with global multi-site scale.
• Hilmar Cheese Company: US-headquartered cheese ingredients manufacturer producing natural American-style cheese, whey products, and lactose for foodservice and ingredient customers. Directly comparable B2B foodservice cheese processor with proprietary format capabilities and large-scale production.

Broad incumbents

• Bel Group: French global cheese group with foodservice and branded cheese portfolios (Laughing Cow, Babybel, processed slices). Comparable in processed/sliced cheese formats for foodservice, though more retail-branded and globally diversified than Prima's private-label/foodservice-led mix.
• Müller (Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller): German-headquartered dairy group with significant UK dairy and cheese manufacturing operations. Broad incumbent in UK dairy, including cheese-adjacent categories, competing for similar foodservice and ingredient customers in the UK market.
• Saputo Inc. Canadian-headquartered global dairy group with cheese manufacturing operations in the UK (including Cathedral City). Broader incumbent competing in UK and European foodservice cheese, but operating a more diversified portfolio across retail, ingredients, and dairy.
• Arla Foods: European dairy cooperative producing cheese for retail and foodservice, including UK operations. Comparable as a major European cheese manufacturer serving foodservice, though operating a broader dairy portfolio at co-operative scale rather than a focused foodservice cheese processing model.
• Kerry Group: Irish taste and nutrition giant with a significant dairy and cheese ingredients portfolio (including the Kerrymaid brand that Prima distributes). Comparable broad incumbent in B2B dairy/foodservice ingredients; Prima's commercial relationship with Kerry (Kerrymaid distribution) creates a partial partnership/peer overlap.
• Lactalis: World's largest dairy group with extensive cheese manufacturing (including branded cheddar in the UK). Broad incumbent in B2B and branded cheese, with global sourcing and distribution; overlaps Prima in foodservice cheese but at vastly larger scale and broader product range.

Regional players

• Hochland SE: German family-owned cheese manufacturer specialising in processed cheese, slices, and cream cheese for European foodservice and retail. Closely comparable business model (family-owned, value-added cheese processing, slice/format engineering) and a key European competitor in sliced cheese formats.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCg15m9mANMc8jGT8HLrWbXQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/prima-cheese-ltd
• Instagraminstagram.com/primacheese
• TikToktiktok.com/@primacheese?lang=en
• Xx.com/primacheeseuk
• Facebookfacebook.com/primacheese

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Prima Cheese