Kerrygold Burro Irlandese (Irish Butter)

Kerrygold is Ireland's most famous food export and the first Irish food brand to exceed €1 billion in annual retail value. Founded in 1961 by the Irish Dairy Board (now known as Ornua), the brand was created to centralize the marketing of premium Irish dairy products globally. Interestingly, although it is an iconic Irish product, it was first launched in the United Kingdom in 1962 and did not go on sale in Ireland until 1973.

The butter is prized for its high butterfat content and rich golden color, which comes naturally from the carotene in the grass eaten by Irish cows. The milk is sourced from over 14,000 small family farms across Ireland, where cows graze on lush green pastures for the majority of the year.

Today, the brand is owned by the Ornua Co-operative Limited, which is itself owned by Irish dairy processors and farmers. Most of the production takes place at Kerrygold Park, a state-of-the-art facility in Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ireland, which opened in 2016 to centralize global supply and packaging operations.