Throughout November, we held six Shareholder Business Update events across the four co-op areas of West Cork. This was a new initiative, with the objective of staying connected with our farmer shareholders, keeping them informed on the business, and helping them to understand our business growth plans, especially on the Flavours side of the business. With milk price going through a challenging period, it was also an opportunity to discuss the coming months and answer questions.  

Alongside the Carbery business update and dairy markets overview, shareholders were given a deep understanding of our flavours business, including the global markets we operate in, the customers we serve, and many of the everyday products our flavour teams help create. We also showcased our cheese portfolio, protein applications, nutrition ingredients, and the continued investments that strengthen our product offering.

We were delighted to welcome members of our UK team, who joined us in West Cork to run a live flavours demonstration, giving shareholders a first-hand look at how flavours are developed and applied in products on supermarket shelves.

We also took the opportunity to progress our sustainability agenda, with engagement across all four co-ops on the importance of improving milk solids, showcasing our new biodiversity mapping initiative for farms, and increasing sign-ups for EIP funding to enhance water quality on farms. We also presented the findings on generational renewal from our shareholder survey, gathered feedback, and heard great ideas from farmers throughout the roadshows. The West Cork Rapid Reponse team were also on hand to give out magnets to farmers to record and display their Eircode on, in case of emergency.

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