The Swaledale Cheese Company has been hit by flood damage leaving it unable to fulfil orders with premium retailers such as Harrods and Waitrose.
Operations at the specialist cheese supplier's Richmond factory in Surrey have been stopped, following a burst water system at the factory over Christmas. The extent of the damage has only now been fully assessed and the first new batch of cheeses is not expected to be ready until the end of April.
Hundreds of kilos of finished cheeses were also ruined when an expansion vessel in the water system burst and cut off the electricity supply, causing temperatures to fluctuate. The clean-up is scheduled to be completed later this month when the two-month production process will restart.
"We will be working flat out to bring our stock levels up, but meanwhile, we apologise to customers and suppliers if they have difficulty obtaining our cheese," said owner Mandy Reed.
The Swaledale method of cheese production means each variety requires carefully controlled temperatures, humidity levels and maturation times, and the process cannot be accelerated, Reed said. Some 1.75 tonnes of cheese should be produced each week from the Richmond facility.
Swaledale supplies 13 varieties of handmade cheese to premium retailers. They include Swaledale Cheese and Swaledale Ewes Cheese, both of which have PDO status, as well as cows, smoked and organic cheeses.
Last year Swaledale invested £250,000 in doubling its production facilities. But the company insisted it would not move to mass production to supply the larger multiples, despite demand outstripping supply.
"We are a family-run business and keen to maintain our independence," said Reed. "All of our cheeses are handmade using traditional methods, which may mean less in quantity but it means we can ensure quality."
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