When it comes to high-quality, delicious butter, Irish consumers do not need to look too far to find what they are looking for, and they don’t.
With Ireland’s unique climate for dairy farming and emphasis on grass-fed cattle, Irish butter is the cream of the crop, both locally and internationally.
Despite economic challenges and changing diets, butter and cheese remained the nation’s top two dairy exports in 2023.
Butter and Spreadable Butter is the 28th-ranked category – back in its 2022 position after rising to 26th last year – in grocery in Ireland, according to the Top 100 Categories in the 2024 Checkout Top 100 Brands, in association with NIQ.
Category share for Butter and Spreadable Butter fell slightly this year, from 49.7% to 49.4%.
While three of the top five Butter and Spreadable Butter brands of 2024 are the same as they were in previous years, one brand has moved up the rankings while another has entered, showing that there is still room for innovation within an established market.
Published every August, the Checkout Top 100 Brands is based on branded value sales across the Irish grocery sector, making it the most accurate barometer of the biggest-selling brands in the marketplace.
In compiling the report, NIQ Ireland measures the sales performance of over 5,000 brands from over 200 product classes.
Ireland’s Top Five Butter and Spreadable Butter Brands
1 Kerrygold
Established in 1962, Kerrygold has undergone many changes, but has never compromised on its commitment to quality. One of Ireland’s most successful food brands overall, Kerrygold was the first Irish food brand to reach €1 billion in annual retail sales in 2019. As well as being the number-one butter brand in Ireland, it holds the same title in Germany. It is the number-two butter brand in the US, and the country’s number-one imported butter, making it a gold-medal winner, both at home and abroad.
2 Connacht Gold
Seeing an increase in sales in 2022, Connacht Gold was named the fastest-growing butter brand in Ireland. With innovations such as its half-fat hero product, and its commitment to supporting Irish farmers, the brand hopes to continue on this trajectory. Connacht Gold credits its success to its high-quality Irish-farmed milk and customer loyalty.
3 Avonmore
Ireland’s top dairy brand is third in the butter rankings, maintaining its place from 2022. Avonmore believes that its continued success comes from its ‘commitment to high-quality products, a deep understanding of the consumer and their needs, and continuous innovation.’ While the brand has been diversifying its milk offerings to satisfy demand, with fortified and plant-based options, the approach to butter is a classic one: if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
4 Ór–Real Irish Butter
Moving up another place in 2024, this brand entered the national market in 2021, and last year knocked its Cork cohort – Bandon Butter – out of the top five Butter and Spreadable Butter brand rankings. This year it has taken Dairygold's spot. What makes Ór stand out against other competitors this year is its mix of old and new methods, carrying out a slow churning process and using milk from 250 local family farm milk suppliers.
5 Lee Strand
The Kerry co-operative has claimed the fifth spot in the top five this year, knocking Dairygold off the list. With a focus on local milk and high-quality output, Lee Strand has maintained its commitment that customers can "Taste the Freshness", solidifying its spot as one of the top Irish butter brands in 2024.
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