We are immensely proud to share that Pembrokeshire Creamery has been awarded Scale-up Company of the Year in the Wales Food and Drink Awards 2025.
Now in its fourth year, the annual awards celebrate innovations within the Welsh food and drink sector, with a focus on quality products that are scalable and sustainable.
The Scale-up Company award recognises growth and financial performance through innovation, exceptional customer experience and a future-focused approach.
Pembrokeshire Creamery’s entry focussed on its journey since its launch in summer 2024:
Pembrokeshire Creamery is Wales’ only BRCGS liquid milk processing facility, committed to providing high-quality, locally sourced Welsh milk. In 2024 our state-of-the-art facility opened its doors to give the Welsh dairy sector the opportunity for milk produced by local farmers, to be bottled locally.
Our initial business aim was very clear – to keep the entire economic footprint in Wales, to support the rural economy, reduce food miles, and provide Welsh consumers with fully traceable, authentically Welsh dairy products. We have proudly stuck to this through our fast but considered growth.
Our initial bottling capacity was 60 million litres per year, and we impressively allocated the majority of this within the first month of production, through key partnerships with retailers. This was the start of our impressive scale-up story.
In October 2024, we committed to further growth by collaborating with Puffin Produce to expand the well-known and established Welsh produce brand, Blas y Tir, into the dairy sector. Blas y Tir Whole and Semi-Skimmed milk launched into Tesco initially and has continued to grow its presence in the dairy sector since.
With increasing demand for local dairy products, phase two of our expansion started earlier than we anticipated, and is now near completion, doubling our capacity to 120 million litres. This significant and continued investment has enabled us to meet growing retail and consumer demand, whilst providing Welsh farmers with a reliable, local processing facility to supply its milk. The expansion also enhances our sustainability credentials by further reducing the carbon footprint associated with transporting milk across the border for processing, driving a fully integrated supply chain from farm to shelf.
Beneath the success story of our scale and fast-paced growth sits a foundation dedicated to the communities around us, innovation, resilience and sustainability. Our growth brings job creation, skills development and career progression opportunities for people in Wales. Alongside this, we have invested in cutting-edge technology to improve efficiency and product quality.
Our sustainability initiatives focus on reducing waste, energy consumption, and food miles, as well as working with farmers to protect the animals and land around us. Although we operate at scale, we remain dedicated to contributing to a greener future for generations to come, and driving a fully integrated supply chain from farm to shelf
This Scale-up Company of the Year award acknowledges our strength in the market, but crucially for us, it is a testament to our teams’ hard work and commitment to ensure that our business venture not only took-off from the ground successfully, but also gained recognition for its innovation in the Food and Drink sector in Wales.
As our partnerships continue to grow with Welsh farmers, retailers and industry stakeholders, we are excited to be actively shaping the future of Welsh dairy, for consumers in Wales.
Speaking of the award win, Mark McQuade, Managing Director, shared:
“Since opening our doors last year, Pembrokeshire Creamery has excelled in delivering high quality, authentically Welsh dairy, at scale. We know there is huge potential in Welsh farming and dairy and this is just the beginning for us. I am extremely grateful to our team, our farmers and customers, who collaborate with us to create a sustainable and efficient supply-chain that enables growth while retaining quality of product. What an incredible moment of recognition for everyone’s hard work so far.”