Lurpak spreadable

Lurpak spreadable butter is sold in a silver-coloured aluminium dish

Arla is looking to give a premium boost to BSM category sales with the launch of an artisanal-style slow-churned Lurpak butter.

Lurpak Slow Churned Butter is a slightly salted block butter made in Denmark and churned in small batches for over five hours to allow the taste to develop.

Targeted at “everyday indulgent occasions”, it will be positioned as a premium butter for spreading on products such as sourdough bread and scones.

It had “a premium taste and look that we know appeals to everyone from true butter connoisseurs to those who just love food”, claimed Danielle Leck, Lurpak brand manager.

To reflect its high-end credentials, the butter will be sold in parchment paper and merchandised in a silver-coloured aluminium dish, which Arla claims will give it stand-out on shelf and in the home.

A branded sleeve carries the strapline, ‘made in small batches for a fuller flavour’.

Arla not only wanted to grow the Lurpak brand it wanted to grow the butter category, Leck added. The new product would give “new customers a reason to purchase Lurpak butter and existing customers the opportunity to trade up, both of which will help drive category value”, she said.

The launch will be supported by a £500k campaign including press, digital and social media activity as well as sampling and PR.

Arla has also commissioned French chef and baker Richard Bertinet to develop recipes on which to use Slow Churned.

Lurpak Slow Churned will roll into Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose later this month (rsp: £2.30 for a 200g pack). It will be made available first in the UK before rolling out to other countries.

Arla’s last major NPD on Lurpak was Lightest, which launched in January 2012.