Prima Cheese is bouncing back from the pandemic and Brexit uncertainty with a brand-new product for the high-end restaurant and hotel market – a finely grated cheese called reFINED.
Following some of the most challenging trading and export conditions the business has faced in its 25-year history, the company is eager to plug a gap in the market, currently underserved by its competitors.
Prima’s cheese is estimated to be served up to hungry Brits on over 5.5 million pizzas in the UK each week, and this new addition to the family looks set to increase that number further as customers clamor for a finely grated alternative to traditional grated and shredded varieties.
The extra-fine grate developed for reFINED is designed to deliver excellent portion control for chefs and cooks producing premium food throughout the UK and abroad, with pre-orders already rolling in from domestic and international customers. Famed for its unrivaled quality control and heavy investment in its County Durham production facilities and haulage business, Prima’s customers can expect the same high quality they’ve come to know from this local family business success story in an entirely new format.
The development of reFINED has been months in the making, with teams across the business pulling together to bring the new brand to market. Composed of high-quality pure mozzarella cheese, the company will also be offering customers bespoke blends to suit different markets and use cases.
As well as developing a brand new grated format, the team at Prima has also completely redesigned the packaging for reFINED, meaning slimline boxes can be delivered to customers without the need to stack one on top of the other. This reduces the chances of the cheese strands compacting under the weight of the cheese above, leaving perfectly separated grains from factory to kitchen, especially important with a finely grated product.
Prima celebrates its 25th Anniversary in 2021, having grown from a collection of pizza shops to a sprawling state-of-the-art site at Seaham Industrial Estate, becoming a market leader in the process of shredding and blending cheese. The business is still run by the Beni family and employs over 150 people, exporting its products to global markets ranging from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Lebanon, as well as serving customers throughout the UK with its own fleet of trucks.
