Famous Melton creamery Tuxford and Tebbutt under threat as review into its operations announced

Arla Foods announced a review into the operation of its Melton creamery

A famous Melton creamery could be at risk of being sold after a review into its operations was announced. Arla Foods said it would be “exploring” the market for buyers for its Melton Mowbray Creamery, also known locally as Tuxford and Tebbutt, during the process, which it said had been prompted by a “decline” in “the speciality cheese market in the UK”.

Fran Ball, vice president of production at Arla Foods, a Danish-Swedish multinational cooperative, said the announcement would bring a “sense of uncertainty” to the 60 employees who work at the site. The company said there would be no impact on production, customers nor employees while the “strategic operational review” was carried out.

The site is one of the oldest creameries in the UK, and has been running since 1780. It is the only remaining cheese-maker in the town itself, and produces Tuxford and Tebbutt Blue Stilton, Shropshire Blue, Leicester Gold and other classic cheeses. Long Clawson Dairy, near Melton, remains the world’s biggest producer of Stilton cheese.

Ms Ball said: “At Arla we are committed to supporting all colleagues through periods of change and we understand that today’s announcement will bring a sense of uncertainty for those who work at Melton Mowbray and those who work directly with the site team. Over the last few years, the speciality cheese market in the UK, which includes Stilton, has continued to decline, and as a farmer owned cooperative, we are therefore looking at what this means for our business so we can continue to return a fair price back to our 2,000 UK farmer owners.

“Here at Arla Foods, we are proud of the heritage that we have from our creameries across the UK. We are privileged to employ some of the finest cheese makers in the country, which includes those at our Arla Melton Mowbray Creamery UK.

“We’d like to reassure shoppers that there will be no impact to the supply of our products during this review period.” The dairy cooperative has said it expects to be providing an update on the review by April 2024.