Specialist ingredient supplier Middledale Foods has announced a strategic partnership with J R Harding & Sons (Frome) Ltd, part of Cube Cold, to stabilise the UK’s volatile organic butter supply chain. This agreement emerges as the food manufacturing sector contends with severe shortages of organic butterfat, driven by declining milk volumes and high export demand from Europe.
The partnership utilises J R Harding & Sons’ organic-accredited chilled and frozen storage facilities, offering a robust sourcing solution for UK food manufacturers. Middledale Foods attributes this move to years of successive supply constraints, with organic milk volumes reaching a five-year low. Paul Jackson, commercial director at Middledale Foods, emphasised the severity of the situation, noting the European demand drawing organic butterfat out of the UK, leaving domestic manufacturers short of a key ingredient. He stressed that this shortage poses a real risk to business growth.
By collaborating with J R Harding & Sons — a logistics specialist with over 50 years of experience — Middledale Foods is expanding its chilled ingredient portfolio. The Somerset-based firm provides a total logistics solution designed to handle modern supply chain fluctuations, ensuring Middledale maintains a resilient inventory of organic butter despite market instability.
This partnership offers several advantages to the food trade. It provides a secure risk-mitigation route for manufacturers reliant on organic butterfat, combining Middledale’s sourcing expertise with J R Harding & Sons’ BRC-accredited storage to ensure product integrity. Additionally, it supports UK manufacturing by assisting domestic brands, including major players like Yeo Valley, Baxters, and Arla Foods, to overcome production schedule threats due to product availability limitations.
Emma Boakes, general manager at J R Harding & Sons, expressed confidence in the collaboration, stating the team is delighted to support Middledale’s ambitious plans. For the wider trade, this partnership signifies a proactive shift toward partnership-led sourcing, where ingredient suppliers and logistics providers align to protect manufacturers from global market pressures.
