Pont Gâr secures national supermarket listing

Picture: Steve & Sian Elin Peace

Wales's latest soft cheese Pont Gâr Blue is now available on the shelves of leading Tesco stores. Whilst consumers have had the opportunity to purchase Pont Gâr at specialist delicatessens the latest move will see Pont Gâr featured in 121 major Tesco stores across the UK.

The new range of soft cheese's are produced by the The Carmarthenshire Cheese Company, founded earlier this year (April 2006) by co-owners and husband and wife team Steve and Sian Elin Peace. The company has enjoyed huge success, winning several awards at trade shows across the country and gaining the title for the best bilingual packaging earlier this year at Wales's bilingual design awards, signalling a strong start for the innovative duo.

Pont Gâr has steadily increased its retail presence and Tesco is the latest success in the company's development. Jill Rolt, Tesco Category Buyer for Specialty & Continental Cheese's commented "The soft blue cheese market shows good growth and Pont Gâr offers an opportunity for Tesco to bridge a gap in its range and to continue to build its soft blue share. Pont Gâr Blue is unique in that it is the only soft Blue produced in Wales and has been developed to maximise local milk supplies using unique recipes. Tesco are staunch supporters of British Farming and can see that the listing of this top quality creamy blue product will deliver a new flavour variant to its customers whilst also benefiting the British Dairy Farming community".

The cheese's eye catching packaging and distinctive name Pont Gâr carries an international flavour, "in Welsh (and French!), 'Pont' means bridge and Gâr derives from Sir Gâr, Welsh for Carmarthenshire. Gâr is also linked to the Welsh word for love (caru) – hence the abstract heart motif and the well-known Welsh phrase 'Pur o Galon' pure from the heart as a strap line."

Steve Peace, co founder of Carmarthenshire Cheese Company commented, "We are thrilled that Pont Gâr Blue is now available nationwide, since launching our new range of cheese's at the Royal Welsh Show customers have enquired about the availability of our cheese and we are now confident that more people will be able to enjoy what Pont Gâr has to offer."

Pont Gâr is currently available at selected Tesco stores, delicatessens and artisan food shops and is soon to be available on their website www.carmarthenshirecheese.co.uk.