Rural Business Award Finalist

South Caernarfon Creameries has been named as a Rural Business Awards (RBA) finalist in the Wales & Northern Ireland award in the Best Rural Food or Drink Business category.

The creamery has been based here at Chwilog for more than 80 years and is Wales’s oldest and largest dairy farming co-operative, established in 1938 on the rural Llyn Peninsula.

The dairy now produces 13,000 tonnes of cheese a year using 100% Welsh milk, including Wales’ number one selling Welsh cheese brand, its flagship Dragon range, plus a host of other products for the domestic retail, wholesale and export markets.

In the last year £37 million of a record £50m in sales by SCC was pumped back into the rural north and mid-Wales economy in payments to farmers, on top of £4m paid to staff in wages.

Recent innovations include the new Dragon Handcrafted range featuring three new cheeses produced in collaboration with other Welsh businesses, which has recently stocked by supermarket giants Tesco across 30 of its largest Welsh stores.

The range, recently tasted by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge includes a Maplewood Smoked Cheddar, developed with the smokery at Halen Môn, a Slate Cavern Aged Cheddar, matured in the Llechwedd slate cavern at Blaenau Ffestiniog, and a Penderyn Whisky Cheddar.

The Rural Business Awards aim to give recognition to businesses across the rural sector, to celebrate the achievements of rural businesses, from engineering through to artisan food producers and professional services organisations.

The winners of eleven awards, decided by an independent panel of judges, will be announced at an awards presentation on Friday 8th November 2019 at Wrexham Glyndŵr University

Managing Director, Alan Wyn Jones said: “We are delighted to be shortlisted for a Rural Business Award. We are very proud of our rural heritage here at SCC. We work hard to support rural livelihoods by championing high quality local produce, adding value to the milk our farmers’ produce with our ever-evolving range of cheeses, and in turn achieving the best possible price return for their output. From the cow to counter, everyone at SCC including our farming members, staff, suppliers, retailers, wholesalers and customers are crucial to ensuring we make a valuable contribution to the rural economy.”

The co-operative is an important local employer in rural Gwynedd with 98% of its 127 staff living with in 20 miles of the facility and the company is extremely proud of supporting its skilled workforce.

We are delighted to be shortlisted for a Rural Business Award. We are very proud of our rural heritage here at SCC. We work hard to support rural livelihoods by championing high quality local produce, adding value to the milk our farmers’ produce with our ever-evolving range of cheeses, and in turn achieving the best possible price return for their output. From the cow to counter, everyone at SCC including our farming members, staff, suppliers, retailers, wholesalers and customers are crucial to ensuring we make a valuable contribution to the rural economy