Pilgrims Choice is a cheese
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...
owned by Irish dairy exporter
Ornua
Ornua, from the Irish language, Irish "Ór Nua" meaning "new gold" (known as The Irish Dairy Board from 1961 until 2015), is an Irish agricultural cooperative, which markets and sells dairy products on behalf of its members: Irish dairy processor ...
(formerly Adams Foods Ltd and the North Downs Dairy), with UK operations based in
Leek, Staffordshire
Leek is a market town and civil parish in Staffordshire, England, on the River Churnet north east of Stoke-on-Trent. It is an ancient borough and was granted its royal charter in 1214.
It is the administrative centre for the Staffordshire ...
.
Despite an
Identification Code of UK LK002, Pilgrims Choice is substantially sourced from Irish-produced cheese. The company packs include Mature Cheddar, Mature Lighter and Extra Mature Cheddar.
History
Pilgrims Choice was founded by David Hardisty, the founder of North Downs Dairy, in 1985, and was bought by the Irish Dairy Board in 1997.
The brand Pilgrims Choice was launched onto the retail market in 1999 as a pre-packaged cheese in its trademark black packaging. Pilgrims Choice Farmhouse Vintage Extra Mature then became Britain's fastest growing
Protected Designated Origin West Country farmhouse cheddar brand, with sales of more than £20 million by the year 2000.
In 2014, Pilgrims Choice partnered with the television show ''
Britain's Got Talent'' to launch the ‘Make The Pilgrims Choice’ campaign. The campaign gave viewers the chance to vote for contestants that did not get through the first round of auditions by visiting the company's website and casting their vote.
In September 2020, it was announced that Ornua would revamp Pilgrims Choice cheese blocks with a plastic-saving eco-friendly pack format.
In July 2022, Pilgrims Choice launched a 10-second TV advertising campaign targeting gastronomes on
Food Network
Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...
, as well as
Discovery+
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* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discov ...
and
YouTube
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.
In October 2022, it was announced that Simon Ball was appointed by Ornua as the managing director of Ornua Foods.
Reception
In 2019, Pilgrims Choice was ranked the UK's 4th top cheese brand by ''
The Grocer
''The Grocer'' is a British digital and magazine service devoted to grocery sales, published by William Reed Ltd. It has been published since 1862.
The Grocer 33
A feature of the service is 'The Grocer 33'. This is a survey of each of the fi ...
''. In 2020, Ornua reported sales of Pilgrims Choice had grown by 25% in the past 52 weeks, outperforming the general category by 10%.
In 2022, Pilgrims Choice was ranked the UK’s 2nd top cheddar and Kerrygold and 3rd block butter.
References
External links
Official Website
{{British cheeses
English cheeses
Food brands of the United Kingdom
Wincanton