Author
Managing Director, Dairy Connect
Steve Moncrieff is Managing Director of Dairy Connect, the intelligence, influence and connection platform for the dairy industry. He leads commercial strategy across the platform's forums, events and The Dairy Mail, working with producers, processors, suppliers and buyers across the UK, Ireland and beyond. He writes The Dairy Mail's analysis and reporting on where value is moving in cheese and dairy.
By this author
With protein claims now table stakes, fermentation expertise and culture-led texture will decide which dairy businesses keep shoppers.
2026-07-16
Italy's protected DOP cheeses offer UK premium retailers a substitution barrier own-label cannot copy, provided they are ranged with discipline.
2026-06-25
Dairy's foodservice growth in 2026 will come from smaller, protein-dense, provenance-led plates rather than simply larger portions.
2026-06-19
With speciality cheese outgrowing the category and feta supply tightening, buyers should secure genuine PDO product early rather than treat it as a commodity.
2026-06-19
Farmhouse and artisan cheesemakers punch far above their tonnage, defining reputation and premium value the wider dairy sector should treat as strategic.
2026-06-19
2026 will not be the recovery year the sector expected but the year that resets it, splitting shoppers into clearer tiers and leaving mainstream Cheddar the most exposed.
2026-04-27
The UK grocery market is splitting into premium own-brand and hard discount, and a supplier's position on that barbell and inside aligned contracts will decide its 2026/27 fortunes.
2026-04-24
UK and Irish producers who commit whey-processing capex before 2028 will capture premium margin for a decade, while those still exporting raw whey watch the value accrue elsewhere.
2026-04-24
The full-fat revival is a structural repositioning of dairy as naturally functional, but capturing lasting value depends on the industry's strategic alignment.
2026-03-19
As GLP-1 users prioritise nutritional density, dairy's high-quality protein becomes a real advantage if the sector repositions its messaging.
2026-03-13
Legal protection of the word milk means little unless dairy harnesses the mainstream protein trend to rebuild everyday consumption habits, especially among under-30s.
2026-02-12
The research aims to identify where targeted intervention could unlock disproportionate value for cheese and dairy over the next 12 to 36 months.
2026-02-03
Pizza should be treated as a system to be engineered around cheese performance and provenance, not a mature category defended on price.
2026-02-02
Ireland's whey advantage in functional nutrition rests on value extraction over volume, and sustaining it demands relentless investment in processing, research and talent.
2026-01-13
UK dairy needs a coordinated, commercially measured campaign to restore milk's cultural relevance, particularly among under-30s, or risk marginalisation by drift.
2026-01-09
Producers who define a clear role in the retail system, invest in data literacy and collaborate will outperform those coasting on heritage and quality alone.
2026-01-06
Irish dairy's climate reckoning is painful, but verified low-carbon production could turn sustainability into a defensible premium export advantage.
2026-01-06
In 2025 the dairy businesses that invested in brand storytelling, collaboration and functional innovation captured margin, while those relying on quality alone stalled.
2025-12-11
Constrained by tightening environmental limits, Irish dairy must build strategy around value, speciality products and verified sustainability rather than more volume.
2025-12-11
With volume up 29.4% and value up 26.2%, cottage cheese offers UK retailers, foodservice operators and artisan producers a rare simultaneous growth opportunity.
2025-11-05
Whey's shift from byproduct to high-value bioeconomy ingredient is an open opportunity British dairy can capture through R&D, traceability and scientific validation.
2025-11-04
UK cheese growth to 2033 will reward clear good-better-best positioning, with the independent ICDA increasingly serving as a market signal for buyers and producers.
2025-10-24
Understanding processed, unprocessed, pasteurised and unpasteurised cheese helps makers, sellers and buyers judge quality with confidence.
2025-05-28
The volatility across UK and European dairy is structural rather than cyclical, and producers must evolve through it rather than wait it out.
2025-05-12
Flavoured milk's future growth lies in protein, function and premiumisation rather than nostalgia, offering brands a rare second chance.
2025-04-08
The US tariffs make market diversification, provenance-led premium positioning and coordinated trade lobbying urgent priorities for UK and European dairy producers.
2025-04-08
UK retailers can unlock cheese-category value by investing in staff expertise, curated ranges, in-store theatre, education and regional provenance.
2025-04-08
UK dairy can weather a more protectionist world by diversifying markets, leaning on premium provenance and actively shaping trade policy rather than absorbing tariff shocks.
2025-03-18
British territorial cheeses can win younger shoppers by leaning into protein, sustainability, experience and award recognition rather than nostalgia alone.
2025-02-27
Cheese brands can defend share by differentiating on health, provenance and sustainability rather than competing on price alone.
2025-02-25
FETA PDO's certified origin and traditional method give UK retailers a credible premium story to justify higher price tiers.
2025-02-25
The UK's cheese opportunity lies not in more products but in coordinated education that inspires shoppers to explore beyond the familiar.
2025-02-11
Retailers that invest in education, in-store tasting and influencer content convert consumer curiosity into repeat premium cheese sales.
2025-01-29
Producers that embed and clearly communicate sustainable practices will win consumer trust and secure long-term commercial advantage.
2025-01-29
UK dairy brands that lead with sustainability, health credentials and provenance, not just price, will stay relevant to conscious consumers.
2025-01-29
