Pilgrims Choice

Pilgrims Choice is a British retail cheese brand associated with cheddar, including mature, lighter and extra-mature varieties. The brand traces its origins to North Downs Dairy, founded by David Hardisty in 1985. It entered the retail market in 1999 as a pre-packaged cheese brand distinguished by its black packaging. The business was acquired by the Irish Dairy Board in 1997, and the brand subsequently became part of the organisation now known as Ornua, the Irish dairy exporter and owner of the Ornua Foods business. Pilgrims Choice has operated in the United Kingdom from Leek, Staffordshire. Although its products carry the UK identification code LK002, the brand has been described as being substantially supplied with cheese produced in Ireland. This gives Pilgrims Choice a cross-border supply-chain identity: it is positioned as a British retail brand while drawing materially on Irish dairy production and the wider resources of Ornua. The range has included Mature Cheddar, Mature Lighter and Extra Mature Cheddar. Its farmhouse and vintage extra-mature cheddar positioning helped it gain visibility in the British cheese market. Pilgrims Choice Farmhouse Vintage Extra Mature was reported as the fastest-growing Protected Designated Origin West Country farmhouse cheddar brand in Britain around the turn of the millennium, with sales exceeding £20 million by 2000. The brand later expanded its consumer communication through television, entertainment partnerships and digital video. In 2014, Pilgrims Choice worked with Britain's Got Talent on the 'Make The Pilgrims Choice' campaign. The activity invited viewers to vote online for contestants who had not progressed beyond the first audition stage, linking the cheese brand to a popular national television format. In 2020, Ornua announced a redesign of Pilgrims Choice block-cheese packaging intended to reduce plastic use. In 2022, the brand launched a short television advertisement aimed at food enthusiasts through Food Network, Discovery+ and YouTube. Trade recognition has provided a measure of the brand's market position. The Grocer ranked Pilgrims Choice as the United Kingdom's fourth-leading cheese brand in 2019. Ornua reported that Pilgrims Choice sales increased by 25 percent over the preceding 52 weeks in 2020, outperforming the wider category by 10 percent. The brand was also reported in 2022 as the United Kingdom's second-leading cheddar brand. Pilgrims Choice therefore occupies a mainstream but differentiated position in British packaged cheese, combining mature-cheddar credentials, distinctive packaging, retail distribution and the scale of Ornua's dairy network.

Pilgrims Choice originated within North Downs Dairy, the dairy business founded by David Hardisty in 1985. The brand's corporate history is linked to the Irish Dairy Board, which acquired the business in 1997. The Irish Dairy Board later became Ornua, and Pilgrims Choice is now owned and marketed within the Ornua Foods structure. The Pilgrims Choice name entered the retail market in 1999 as a pre-packaged cheese brand. Its black packaging became a distinctive visual feature, helping the product stand out in the packaged-cheese aisle. The early range included mature and extra-mature cheddar products. Pilgrims Choice Farmhouse Vintage Extra Mature developed a particularly strong position, being described as Britain's fastest-growing Protected Designated Origin West Country farmhouse cheddar brand around 2000. Reported sales for the brand exceeded £20 million in that year. The brand's supply chain reflects the relationship between a United Kingdom retail operation and an Irish dairy owner. Pilgrims Choice has UK operations based in Leek, Staffordshire, and its packaging uses the UK identification code LK002. However, reference material states that the cheese is substantially sourced from Irish production. The brand consequently combines British retail presentation and market presence with Ornua's Irish dairy-exporting base. Pilgrims Choice has used partnerships and advertising to maintain consumer visibility. In 2014, it partnered with Britain's Got Talent for the Make The Pilgrims Choice campaign. Viewers were directed to the brand's website to vote for contestants who had failed to advance from the first audition round. This connected the brand with a high-reach entertainment programme while creating an interactive digital component. Packaging became a strategic issue in 2020, when Ornua announced that Pilgrims Choice cheese blocks would move to a format designed to save plastic. The initiative reflected a broader effort to address packaging materials in the grocery sector, although the available reference material does not quantify the reduction. In 2022, Pilgrims Choice introduced a 10-second advertisement aimed at gastronomes and distributed it across Food Network, Discovery+ and YouTube. The campaign illustrates the brand's use of both linear television and online video channels. In the same year, Simon Ball was appointed managing director of Ornua Foods, the business connected with the brand. Trade rankings and reported sales indicate that Pilgrims Choice has remained a significant participant in the British cheese category. The Grocer ranked it fourth among United Kingdom cheese brands in 2019. Ornua reported 25 percent sales growth for Pilgrims Choice over the 52 weeks referenced in 2020, 10 percentage points ahead of the general category. In 2022, the brand was reported as the United Kingdom's second-leading cheddar brand. Its current identity is therefore built around packaged mature cheddar, strong supermarket recognition, a distinctive historical pack design, and the operational backing of Ornua.

• 2022

  Food Network and digital advertising campaign launched

  [1]Pilgrims Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  Pilgrims Choice released a 10-second campaign across Food Network, Discovery+ and YouTube.

• 2020

  Plastic-saving block packaging announced

  [1]Pilgrims Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  Ornua announced a redesigned, more plastic-efficient pack format for Pilgrims Choice blocks.

• 2019

  Ranked fourth among United Kingdom cheese brands

  [1]Pilgrims Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  The Grocer ranked Pilgrims Choice as the UK's fourth-leading cheese brand.

• 2014

  Make The Pilgrims Choice campaign launched

  [1]Pilgrims Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  The brand partnered with Britain's Got Talent on an online voting campaign involving contestants eliminated during the first audition stage.

• 2000

  Farmhouse Vintage Extra Mature gained rapid growth

  [1]Pilgrims Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  The farmhouse vintage extra-mature product was reported as Britain's fastest-growing PDO West Country farmhouse cheddar brand, with sales above £20 million.

• 1999

  Pilgrims Choice launched in retail

  [1]Pilgrims Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  Pilgrims Choice entered the retail market as a pre-packaged cheese brand using its characteristic black packaging.

• 1997

  Business acquired by the Irish Dairy Board

  [1]Pilgrims Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  The Irish Dairy Board acquired the business associated with the brand.

• 1985

  North Downs Dairy founded

  [1]Pilgrims Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  David Hardisty founded North Downs Dairy, the business from which Pilgrims Choice developed.

A mainstream British packaged-cheese brand focused on mature and extra-mature cheddar, with farmhouse and vintage cues and backing from the Irish dairy group Ornua.

• Cheddar cheese

  Mature Cheddar

  A core Pilgrims Choice retail product centred on the fuller flavour associated with mature cheddar. It is sold as pre-packaged cheese and represents the brand's mainstream offering in the United Kingdom.

• Reduced-fat cheddar cheese

  Mature Lighter

  A lighter variant within the mature-cheddar range. It extends the brand's proposition beyond standard mature cheddar while retaining the core Pilgrims Choice association with packaged British retail cheese.

• Extra-mature cheddar cheese

  Extra Mature Cheddar

  An intensified cheddar offering aimed at consumers seeking a stronger, more developed cheese character. Extra Mature Cheddar is one of the principal products identified with the Pilgrims Choice range.

• Farmhouse cheddar cheese

  Farmhouse Vintage Extra Mature

  A farmhouse-style vintage extra-mature cheddar that helped establish the brand's premium and traditional credentials. Around 2000 it was reported as Britain's fastest-growing PDO West Country farmhouse cheddar brand.

• 2022Pilgrims Choice Food Network and digital video campaign

  United Kingdom

  A 10-second television advertisement targeted gastronomes and was distributed through Food Network, Discovery+ and YouTube.

  Outcome. The available material does not report campaign performance or commercial results.

  Source
• 2014Make The Pilgrims Choice

  United Kingdom

  Pilgrims Choice partnered with Britain's Got Talent and invited viewers to vote online for contestants who had not passed the first audition round.

  Outcome. The campaign created an interactive link between the brand, the television programme and the company's website; no further outcome is specified in the reference material.

  Source

• 2020

  Adoption of plastic-saving block packagingStrategy

  Background

  Ornua announced that Pilgrims Choice cheese blocks would receive a revised packaging format as part of an effort to reduce plastic use.

  Action taken

  The owner announced an eco-oriented redesign of the block-cheese pack.

  Aftermath

  The available source confirms the announcement but does not provide a quantified packaging reduction or subsequent performance data.

  Source

1. 1Pilgrims Choiceen.wikipedia.org