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Source: Kerry Dairy Consumer Foods

The range includes aa Blended Oat & Dairy Cheddar, Milk, Butter and Spreadable Butter

Kerry Dairy Consumer Foods has launched a “category-first” oat & dairy blended product range.

The Smug Dairy brand range combines dairy and oats to give “consumers a healthier, more sustainable way of consuming dairy without compromising on that rich creamy taste”, the Irish dairy supplier said.

The range includes a Blended Oat & Dairy Cheddar in block (rsp: £4/320g), grated (rsp: £2.25/160g) and sliced (rsp: £2.25/ 150g) formats, Milk (rsp: £1.95/one litre), Butter (rsp:£2/200g) and Spreadable Butter (rsp: £3.75/400g).

“What we’re doing here is bringing the best of both of those worlds together, rather than consumers having to make a very binary choice,” Victoria Southern, strategy, marketing & innovation director at Kerry Dairy Consumer Foods, told The Grocer.

She added the brand was “combining the goodness of dairy and plants into a really tasty bundle and giving those consumers a healthier and more sustainable way to do dairy, without compromising on taste”.

The cheddar has 35% less saturated fat, is high in protein, and is a source of vitamin D and calcium. The brand also said it’s production created 45% CO2e/kg less emissions than British mature cheddar.

The milk has 30% less saturated fat than semi-skimmed milk, is a source of calcium and fibre, and contains vitamins E, B and D12. Smug also claimed it had 18% CO2e/kg less than semi-skimmed British milk.

The butter has a 30% less saturated fat compared with standard butter and contains vitamins A, D2, E and B12, as well as being a source of omega-3. It has 45% CO2e/kg less emissions than salted British butter.

Meanwhile, the spreadable butter contains 40% less saturated fat compared with standard butter, contains omega-3 and vitamins A, D2, E and B12. The brand also claims it also had 54% CO2e/kg less than standard salted British butter.

Southern told The Grocer the products had been in development for some time and that the company was hoping to “shake up the dairy category”.

“We have uniquely created these blends to make sure that they deliver from a taste perspective and a textual perspective in the main usage occasions that they’re going to be consumed in,” she said. “So that does mean that we do have slightly different proportions of blends across each of the products.”

The launch of the range will be supported by a £5m advertising campaign across out-of-home, audio-visual, TV, PR, influencers, and social media.

Stockists for the range include Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Co-op. The range will begin rolling out from 25 March.