adams food ingredients

What adams food ingredients does

Adams Food Ingredients (now Ornua Foods UK Limited, formerly Adams Foods) operates a state-of-the-art cheese and butter packing facility in Leek, Staffordshire, UK, employing more than 700 staff. The entity was rebranded under Ornua Co-operative Limited in 2018 and serves as the largest supplier of British and Irish cheese in the UK market and the largest private label pre-pack hard cheese supplier in the UK. It operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ornua Co-operative Limited (Ireland), the Irish dairy co-operative that reported group turnover of approximately €3.5 billion in FY2025 across 13 production facilities, 10 business units, and exports to more than 110 countries.

The company's product portfolio spans branded lines (Kerrygold, Dubliner, Pilgrims Choice, Forto, Avantage, Beo) and private label cheese and butter packing services for major UK and European retailers. Underlying technical capabilities include Individual Quick Frozen (IQF) portion control for grated, diced, and shredded cheese; Temperature Controlled Stretch (TCS) technology for pizza cheese applications; controlled melt technology for custom cheese functionality; spray drying for milk powders and whey; and recombined dairy technology developed in partnership with Teagasc. Process capability is complemented by the Kerrygold Park Customer Innovation Centre at Mitchelstown and the £multi-million Avonmouth IQF and Nantwich facilities disclosed in the source material.

The business model is built on three revenue streams: Consumer Branded Products (Kerrygold, Dubliner, Pilgrims Choice, Forto, Avantage, Beo), Dairy Ingredients (butter, cheese, milk powders, casein, and whey supplied to food manufacturers and foodservice operators), and Private Label Products. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales to retailers and food manufacturers with extensive distribution partner networks globally, including dedicated sales and marketing teams in China, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Spain, and the United States. Pricing for ingredients and private label packing operates on quote-based commercial terms, while branded Kerrygold products participate in standard retail category pricing structures.

Name

adams food ingredients

Legal name

Ornua Foods UK Limited

Website

https://askadams.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1926

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Adams Food Ingredients (now Ornua Foods UK Limited) operates a cheese and butter packing facility in Leek, UK, employing 700+ staff and serving as the largest UK supplier of British and Irish cheese and the largest private label pre-pack hard cheese supplier.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dairy Ingredients & Cheese Manufacturing

NAICS

Cheese Manufacturing (311513), Dairy Product (except Frozen) Manufacturing (31151), Creamery Butter Manufacturing (311512)

SIC

Dairy Products (2020)

akta.pro primary industry

Cheese Manufacturing (AFAKAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Label & Contract Cheese Manufacturing (AFAHABAJ), Salted & Unsalted Butter Manufacturing (Retail/Consumer Packs) (AFAHACAC), Processed Cheese & Cheese Spreads Manufacturing (Slices, Loaves, Spreadable) (AFAHABAD), Ripened Natural Cheese Manufacturing (Semi-Soft, Hard & Blue) (AFAHABAB)

Keywords

• Private label cheese packing
• Dairy ingredients manufacturing
• Functional cheese powders
• Cheddar cheese production
• Food industry ingredients

Headquarters

HQ city

Leek

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices17 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Consumer Branded Products: Ornua Foods division markets and sells consumer brands including Kerrygold, Dubliner, Pilgrims Choice, Forto, Avantage and BEO. Brands are sold through retail and foodservice channels globally. Revenue from premium branded dairy products.
2. Dairy Ingredients: Ornua Ingredients division sells dairy ingredients including butter, cheese, milk powders, casein, and whey to food manufacturers and foodservice customers. Custom formulation and bulk ingredient supply.
3. Private Label Products: Ornua Foods UK is the largest supplier of private label pre-pack hard cheese in the UK market, packing private label cheese for major UK retailers and across Europe.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Adams Food Ingredients manufactures dry blended dairy ingredients and functional powders for food producers, and operates as a major UK cheese and butter packing business. It supplies private label pre-pack hard cheese to major UK and European retailers (the largest supplier of British and Irish private label pre-pack hard cheese in the UK), branded cheese under Pilgrims Choice, and Kerrygold block butter for retail distribution. Operations run from state-of-the-art cheese packing facilities in Leek employing over 700 staff.

Product overview

Adams Food Ingredients, previously Adams Foods (now Ornua Foods UK), is a cheese and butter production and packing company based in Leek, Staffordshire. The company operates as part of Ornua and offers a portfolio of consumer brands including Pilgrims Choice cheddar and Kerrygold butter, alongside a substantial private label cheese business serving major UK retailers. The business is the largest supplier of British and Irish cheese in the UK market, employing over 700 staff at its state-of-the-art cheese packing facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pilgrims Choice: The No.2 and fastest growing cheddar brand in the UK market.
• Kerrygold

Products and services

• Pilgrims Choice Cheddar Branded mature cheddar cheese sold in UK retail; positioned as anti-bland and pro-punchy, targeting consumers seeking strong, additive flavour profiles. The No. 2 and fastest-growing cheddar brand in the UK market.
• Kerrygold Butter (UK) Premium butter made from milk of grass-fed cows, distributed in the UK market via Adams Food Ingredients / Ornua Foods UK. The No. 3 block butter brand in the UK market.
• Private Label Pre-Pack Hard Cheese Pre-pack hard cheese packed for major UK and European retailers under their own-label brands. Adams Food Ingredients is the largest supplier of private label pre-pack hard cheese in the UK market.

Quantifiable outcome

• Kerrygold surpassed $1 billion retail sales milestone in US market for first time in 2025
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers25 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TeagasccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrnua Saudi Arabia (Al Wazeen) leverages recombined technology developed in partnership with Teagasc, Ireland's Agriculture and Food Development Authority. This partnership enables innovative white cheese solutions manufacturing for the B2B ingredients sector in the Middle East.
• European Union (ERDF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrnua Ingredientes Europa Ávila received European Union funding through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Regional Government of Castile and León through the Institute for Business Competitiveness of Castile and León (ICE) for research, technological development and innovation project 'DEVELOPMENT OF NEW DAIRY PRODUCTS'.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Glanbia plc: Irish-headquartered global nutrition and dairy ingredients group with major cheese and functional ingredient operations. Directly comparable as an Irish-origin dairy cooperative-linked business with global ingredient reach and consumer nutrition brands.
• Arla Foods: Europe's largest dairy cooperative, farmer-owned across multiple countries. Comparable as a farmer-owned dairy cooperative producing branded (e.g., Lurpak, Arla) and private label cheese, butter, and dairy ingredients at global scale with similar B2B and B2C business mix.
• Lactalis: World's largest privately held dairy company (French). Directly comparable as a privately owned global dairy giant with significant cheese manufacturing, branded (President, Galbani), and B2B ingredient operations across Europe, the Americas, and emerging markets.
• FrieslandCampina: Dutch dairy cooperative with global branded and ingredient dairy operations. Comparable as a farmer-owned cooperative producing cheese, butter, milk powders, and functional ingredients for retail private label and B2B food manufacturer customers worldwide.
• Saputo Inc. Canadian dairy company with substantial cheese and dairy ingredient operations across North America, Europe, and Australia. Comparable as a globally scaled cheese and ingredients manufacturer serving both retail private label and B2B food manufacturer customers.
• Leprino Foods: World's largest mozzarella manufacturer (US, privately held). Directly comparable as a B2B cheese ingredients specialist serving pizza chains and food manufacturers with functional cheese technology and custom formulations.
• Hilmar Cheese: US-based cheese and whey ingredients manufacturer. Comparable as a dairy ingredients company focused on cheese production, custom formulations, and whey/functional dairy ingredients for food manufacturers and foodservice operators.
• Schreiber Foods: US-based dairy company (privately held) with major cheese, yogurt, and ingredient operations. Comparable as a privately held dairy ingredients and private label manufacturer with a B2B customer base and similar cooperative-adjacent ownership history.
• Dairy Farmers of America: US dairy cooperative, one of the largest in the world. Comparable as a farmer-owned cooperative with cheese, butter, milk powder, and ingredient operations serving both retail and B2B food manufacturer customers.

Broad incumbents

• Kerry Group: Irish-headquartered global taste and nutrition company with dairy heritage (formerly Kerry Co-op). Comparable as a major Irish dairy-originated B2B ingredients and consumer foods platform serving global food manufacturers and retailers across a much broader portfolio.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ornua?lang=en
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCHH1pHykvfybF0lGgLKAYnw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/adams-food-ingredients-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 adams food ingredients