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For Artisan & SME
Farm-based, artisan, family and scaling producers. The provenance and premium analysis, the partners who work at your scale, the forums, and a plain route from where you are now to the next stage.
Analysis and news
17 pieces filed for Artisan & SME
Everything in The Dairy Mail tagged with the topics this role owns, newest and most strategic first. The Artisan & SME hub adds partners, events and GROW.
2026 the volatility year
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.
27 April 2026
Cheddar rises 9% in a month and still trails the milk price
Mild Cheddar rose 9% in September, taking a litre made into Cheddar and whey to 39.08 pence and putting cheese back above butter and powder at the factory gate, but the October milk price rises were announced weeks before that figure was published, and AHDB says Cheddar prices remain too low to cover them.
29 September 2026
The invoice arrives this autumn. Nobody can tell you what it says.
The most expensive packaging decision available to a mid-sized processor this year is not a material decision at all: packaging with missing recyclability data is rated red, so 100 tonnes rated red by default rather than by design costs £13,000 more than the same tonnage rated green — larger than the gap between a realistic pack mix and a perfect one.
22 September 2026
The three numbers in your packaging budget are last year's
Year-two EPR resets the rate and starts charging on recyclability, so the number worth working out this month is not tonnage times rate but the red, amber and green split — and how much of the red is red only because an assessment was never submitted.
21 September 2026
ICDA 2026: the retail and foodservice winners at a glance
Waitrose & Partners dominated the 2026 retail titles with six categories, while Booths claimed Supreme Cheese Retailer.
26 June 2026
FETA PDO: provenance the buyer can verify
With speciality cheese outgrowing the category and feta supply tightening, buyers should secure genuine PDO product early rather than treat it as a commodity.
19 June 2026
The artisan advantage
Farmhouse and artisan cheesemakers punch far above their tonnage, defining reputation and premium value the wider dairy sector should treat as strategic.
19 June 2026
The appetite was always there: inside the first Dairy Connect Ireland event
Irish dairy has a genuine gap for dedicated commercial networking, and the first Dairy Connect Ireland event proved the appetite for it.
20 April 2026
Dairy Forum Ireland: a platform for a new era of Irish dairy
Dairy Forum Ireland is positioned to give Irish producers the visibility, buyer access and export readiness needed to compete internationally.
11 February 2026
Cottage cheese: from trend to transformation
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.
5 November 2025
Optimising dairy packaging for high-volume periods
Centralising packing-line control through one master terminal and adding vision inspection cuts costly manual data errors when high demand strains dairy production lines.
2 September 2025
WZ Packaging: leading the way in sustainable dairy packaging with the Enviro Ultra-Laminates range
WZ Packaging's Enviro Ultra-Laminates range shows dairy packaging can reduce material and improve recyclability without sacrificing barrier protection.
1 July 2025
Ensuring cheese quality through advanced weighing and inspection systems
Investing in traceable weighing and inspection technology guards producers against costly recalls and reputational damage while improving margins.
1 May 2025
Securing dairy operations from cow to shelf | Circle Group
Circle Group argues wireless, solar-powered alarm systems suit dairy sites better than costly traditional security and can pay for themselves by preventing losses.
30 April 2025
Celebrating cheese excellence | Academy of Cheese
Affinage is emerging as a strategic differentiator for British cheesemakers, driving product innovation and stronger positioning in a competitive market.
4 March 2025
British territorial cheeses - reimagining tradition for the modern consumer
British territorial cheeses can win younger shoppers by leaning into protein, sustainability, experience and award recognition rather than nostalgia alone.
27 February 2025
Solving the wonky cheese label problem
Inspiron Systems' Cheese Centralizer aims to position irregular cheese packs accurately before labelling, cutting the relabelling that can affect up to 30% of packs.
6 February 2025