West Cork yogurt maker wins 16 gold stars at guild awards

A west Cork yogurt manufacturer has won 16 gold stars at the Great Taste Awards organised by the UK Guild of Fine Foods.

Irish Yogurts Ltd in Clonakilty won the accolades for a range of products, all of which are gluten and GM free, from among 9,000 entries judged over a 45-day period by master chefs, restaurateurs, food critics and writers.

Irish Yogurts was set up in 1994 with just two employees but now employs 130 people in Clonakilty and has a turnover of €17 million a year.

Founder and managing director Diarmuid O’Sullivan said the company’s products were now found under the Irish Yogurts and own-label brands in retail and supermarket chains nationwide.

“We also supply Britain’s four top retail multiples – Sainsburys, Tesco, Morrisons and Asda – under our Irish Yogurts label and, later this month, we will begin exporting to Austria, Finland and Spain,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

“What we are about is combining the best of traditional food production values with RD and new technologies.”