In 1999 theIrishDairyBoard,whichhadbeensellingbutterand
cheeseabroadundertheKerrygoldlabelforalmostfour
decades,shippeda fewthousandfoil-wrappedbricksofbut-
tertotheU.S.Thegroupdidn’thavehighhopes.American
farmersproducedmorethanenoughmilktogoaround,and
tariffsonimportedbutter,alongwiththecostofshippingit,
meantthatKerrygoldwouldbesubstantiallymoreexpensive
thanit wasinIreland.Ontopofthat,theU.S.groceryindus-
trywasnotoriouslyfragmented.Withsomanygrocerstowoo,
penetratingthemarketwouldbeanarduousprocess.
Twentyyearson,Kerrygoldis America’ssecond-best-selling
brandofbutterbyrevenue—aresultthatsurpriseseventhe
teamthatpushedtointroduceit hereinthefirstplace.(Land
O’Lakes,thedomesticbrandthat’sdominatedshelvessince
1921,holdsthetopspot.)If you’vevisiteda supermarket dairy
aisle recently, you’re likely to have seen it: gold (salted) and
silver (unsalted) foil blocks featuring an illustration of a graz-
ing cow, with the Kerrygold name in a Celtic font. It’s often
displayed alongside Plugrá, a European-style butter produced
in the U.S. by the Dairy Farmers of America Inc.; Lurpak,
imported from Denmark; and Président, a French offering—
all of which come in half-pound slabs, priced at a premium to
Land O’Lakes and other mainstream domestic brands.
But Kerrygold is unique in its power to turn consumers
into unpaid, yet vigorous, brand ambassadors. Sarah Jessica
Parker, the actress, and Chrissy Teigen, the model and cook-
book author, have both raved about it, unsponsored, on social
media. Kourtney Kardashian called for it by name in reci-
pes published on her now-shuttered app. (Perhaps it’s a “K”
thing?) Last year the actress Kate Beckinsale told People maga-
zine that she packs Kerrygold in her suitcase when she travels.
Chefs rhapsodize about the butter’s intense flavor and
extravagantly creamy texture. Adam Biderman, the chef and
owner of the Company Burger in New Orleans, says he spent
most of his career using Plugrá until he tried Kerrygold and
never went back. Jessica Quinn, the pastry chef at Rezdôra
in New York City, says she’s tested Kerrygold against other
European butters and found that it stands apart. “It’s rich
and milky and bakes up with really nutty nuanced flavors,”
she says. She also says that cookies made with Kerrygold turn
out crispier than with European alternatives.
After a childhood fed on Land O’Lakes, I, too, have the
zeal of the Kerrygold convert. The butter is canary yellow,
with a movie-theater popcorn richness that verges on the
addictive. Many butters shatter or crumble when you cut or
spread them cold, but Kerrygold is dense and pliable right
out of the fridge, like modeling clay. In your mouth, it dis-
solves without waxiness or greasiness. Over the years I’ve
graduated from smearing a socially acceptable sliver onto
toast to eating it, like cheese, in thick slices on crackers.
Quinn admits that her usual breakfast is a baguette with a
slab of Kerrygold so massive her fellow cooks have started to
tease her about it. When I speak to Katie Button, the chef and
co-owner of two restaurants in Asheville, N.C., she mentions
doing something similar. “It tastes like what butter tastes
Bloomberg Businessweek October 7, 2019