Ilchester Cheese
Ilchester Cheese is a UK-based private producer of blended cheese, founded in 1962 in Ilchester, Somerset, and operating with 1-10 employees. The firm serves the British specialty cheese category under a long-established brand, though current product range, distribution, and customer base are not disclosed.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1962
- HeadquartersIlchester, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Ilchester Cheese does
Ilchester Cheese is a privately held UK producer of blended cheese, founded in 1962 and headquartered in Ilchester, Somerset. The company is classified as a for-profit private business and is described in firmographic data as a maker of blended cheese, a category that typically combines commodity cheeses with flavourings, coatings, or specialty ingredients rather than producing single-origin artisanal cheese. According to the available firmographic record, the company operates with between 1 and 10 employees, which is unusually lean for a food manufacturer of its age and suggests either a contract-manufacturing arrangement, a licensing/brand-holding structure, or a significantly reduced operational footprint relative to its historical scale.
No product catalogue, customer list, distribution channels, pricing model, management team, certifications, or partnership information is disclosed in the input data. The company's website (ilchester.co.uk) currently displays a generic verification/loading page rather than substantive company content, and the single news source cited in the aggregated data discusses dairy-industry product launches by other brands (All Things Butter, Protein Pints, Kallo) without mentioning Ilchester Cheese. The only documented strategic event on record is an October 2007 investment by Inflexion, with no deal value disclosed and no subsequent capital, M&A, or leadership activity tracked in the provided sources.
There are no AI/ML capability signals, technology stack disclosures, proprietary platforms, patents, or integration data in the source material. Operating geographies, regulatory status, and ownership commentary beyond the Inflexion investment are also unstated. As a result, while the firm's identity and category positioning are clear, its current commercial scale, go-to-market mechanics, and strategic direction are not verifiable from the supplied evidence and should be treated as a material diligence gap.
Ilchester Cheese firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ilchester Cheese
- Website
- https://ilchester.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1962
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Ilchester Cheese is a UK-based private producer of blended cheese, founded in 1962 in Ilchester, Somerset, and operating with 1-10 employees. The firm serves the British specialty cheese category under a long-established brand, though current product range, distribution, and customer base are not disclosed.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ilchester Cheese industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cheese Manufacturing
- NAICS
- Cheese Manufacturing (311513)
- SIC
- Dairy Products (2020)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cheese Blending & Formulation (Retail & Foodservice Blends) (AFAHABAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Cheese Manufacturing (AFAKAKAB)
Keywords
Where Ilchester Cheese is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ilchester
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Ilchester Cheese business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Ilchester Cheese product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ilchester Cheese is a United Kingdom-based producer of blended cheese, headquartered in Ilchester. Founded in 1962, the company manufactures blended cheese products for sale to consumers through retail and distribution channels. The firm operates as a small-scale specialty cheese producer with 1–10 employees.
Product overview
No product information available for Ilchester Cheese from the provided sources. The news source discusses dairy industry product launches including truffle butter, protein ice cream, and oat milk from various brands (All Things Butter, Protein Pints, Kallo), but does not mention Ilchester Cheese specifically. The webpage source shows only a verification/loading page with no accessible product content.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Blended Cheese
Companies that use Ilchester Cheese
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
Ilchester Cheese technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Ilchester Cheese partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves1 record
Expansion highlights1 record
Ilchester Cheese competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Savencia Fromage & Dairy: French speciality cheese group producing branded cheeses such as Boursin and Saint Albray, competing in the UK premium and blended cheese segments.
- Lactalis UK: French dairy multinational's UK business operates major cheese brands across retail and foodservice, providing a broad portfolio alternative that competes for retailer listings against specialists like Ilchester.
- Kerrygold: Irish dairy brand with strong UK presence across cheeses and butter, competing in the same premium and everyday-use cheese category positions as Ilchester.
- Saputo (Cathedral City): Saputo's UK arm produces and markets Cathedral City, the UK's leading cheddar brand, competing for the same shelf space and foodservice customers as a blended cheese specialist.
- Arla Foods: UK dairy cooperative producing a wide range of natural and processed cheeses; competes broadly with Ilchester for grocery, foodservice and ingredient customers.
Direct peers
- Bel Group: French maker of The Laughing Cow and other processed/blended cheese portions — directly comparable as a multi-market blended and processed cheese brand.
- Wyke Farms: Somerset-based cheddar and blended cheese producer serving UK retail and wholesale — overlapping manufacturing and customer base with Ilchester in mainstream and premium blended cheese.
- Applewood Cheese: UK brand known for smoked and flavoured Cheddar — a directly comparable blended/flavoured cheese proposition sold through the same UK grocery and foodservice channels as Ilchester.
Market position
Strengths3 records
Weaknesses3 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights3 records
Customer concentration
Ilchester Cheese financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ilchester Cheese leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Ilchester Cheese funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ilchester Cheese M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ilchester Cheese
What does Ilchester Cheese do?
Ilchester Cheese is a United Kingdom-based producer of blended cheese, headquartered in Ilchester. Founded in 1962, the company manufactures blended cheese products for sale to consumers through retail and distribution channels. The firm operates as a small-scale specialty cheese producer with 1–10 employees.
Is Ilchester Cheese a public or private company?
Ilchester Cheese is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Ilchester Cheese founded?
Ilchester Cheese was founded in 1962. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Ilchester Cheese based?
Ilchester Cheese is headquartered in Ilchester, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
Who are Ilchester Cheese's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Savencia Fromage & Dairy, Lactalis UK, Kerrygold, Saputo (Cathedral City) and Arla Foods. Direct peers are Bel Group, Wyke Farms and Applewood Cheese.
Does Ilchester Cheese have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ilchester Cheese.
What industry is Ilchester Cheese in?
Ilchester Cheese's product category is Cheese Manufacturing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAHABAG, Cheese Blending & Formulation (Retail & Foodservice Blends), with a secondary code of AFAKAKAB, Cheese Manufacturing. Its NAICS code is 311513 and its SIC code is 2020.