Kerry Dairy Ireland has set out plans to invest €300m ($349.6m) in manufacturing, innovation and sustainability efforts.
The Cheestrings brand owner and ingredients supplier said it will create “more than 100 new roles” at the business over the next two years.
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The announcement came alongside news of a new name for the business – Kinisla, which the Dairygold butter maker said “draws inspiration from both kinship and island identity”.
Chris Roberts, the MD of Kinisla’s consumer foods business, said: “This investment will turbocharge our innovation pipeline, strengthen our supply chain and support our ambition to reimagine dairy and inspire what’s next for the category.”
The €300m of investment will be spread over five years and be put across the company’s consumer foods and nutritional ingredients divisions. The nutritional ingredients business supplies proteins and whey to food manufacturers.
Kinisla said the move “will fuel growth by supporting manufacturing innovation, operational scale and sustainability initiatives aimed at reducing Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions”.
The company added it will create “more than 100 new roles across central functions, innovation and commercial operations over the next 12 to 24 months”.
Just Food has asked for further details. A “business review” report for 2025 published this month said Kinisla employed more than 1,700 staff last year.
Last year, Kerry Co-Operative Creameries acquired 70% of Kerry Dairy Ireland from Irish food-ingredients supplier Kerry Group for €350m. The co-op has a call option on the rest of the business up to July 2035 under which it would pay a further €150m.
In September, the then Kerry Dairy Ireland announced it would pull a range of ‘hybrid’ dairy products it launched in the UK under the Smug brand in 2024.
The company had claimed a “category first” when it rolled out Smug, combining oats with traditional dairy.
However, after UK listings with the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, Kerry Dairy Ireland said the Smug hybrid range was being phased out in favour of a full-blown dairy snacking range under the same brand.
