Cottage cheese boom drives £6m Rodda's investment in Cornwall

Cornish dairy producer Rodda’s is investing £6 million in new cottage cheese production as demand for high-protein dairy products continues to surge across the UK.

The family-run business is installing a specialist production line at its Scorrier creamery in Cornwall, with manufacturing expected to begin later this summer.

The expansion is expected to create up to 20 skilled jobs and provide more stable demand for milk from farming families supplying the business.

Rodda’s said the move would also help strengthen domestic dairy manufacturing capacity at a time when demand for British-produced protein-rich foods is rising rapidly.

Cottage cheese has seen a major resurgence in popularity in recent years amid growing consumer interest in high-protein diets and minimally processed foods.

Industry figures from Worldpanel by Numerator show UK spending on cottage cheese climbed almost 42% to £102.2 million in the year to December 2025, while purchase volumes rose sharply to 25.6 million kilograms.

Additional retail data from NIQ Homescan showed monthly sales volumes increased by around 88% between the start of 2023 and the end of 2025 as supermarkets expanded ranges to keep pace with consumer demand.

Once fully operational, the Scorrier site will become one of only a small number of dedicated cottage cheese manufacturing facilities in Britain.

Rodda’s currently handles around 61 million litres of milk each year, although only a small proportion is used in the company’s flagship clotted cream products.

By producing cottage cheese on site, the business will be able to make greater use of surplus skimmed milk in higher-value dairy products instead of selling it into the commodity market.

Managing director Nicholas Rodda said the investment would support both local employment and long-term sustainability within the dairy business.

“As a fifth generation Cornish dairy business, we’re proud to be investing in a new manufacturing capability in Scorrier and in skilled jobs for local people,” he said.

Mr Rodda described cottage cheese as “one of the fastest growing dairy categories in the UK” and said the new facility would help the company generate “more value from every litre of milk we buy from our farming families”.

He added the project would provide “more predictable demand” for producers supplying Rodda’s while helping strengthen domestic food production resilience.

The expansion will introduce additional automation and dairy processing technology at the Scorrier site, with the company also planning to upskill existing employees and recruit new staff to operate the facility.

The investment has been partly supported through £500,000 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, allocated by Cornwall Council through the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Good Growth Programme.

Operations at Rodda’s creamery will continue as normal throughout the expansion, with the site continuing to produce its clotted cream, butter and speciality milk ranges.

With consumer demand for protein-rich dairy products continuing to grow, Rodda’s said the investment would help secure long-term growth for both the business and the farming families supplying its milk.