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Rodda’s is investing £6 million in a new cottage cheese production facility at its Scorrier creamery in Cornwall.

The new state-of-the-art facility is currently entering its final commissioning phase and will house specialist cottage cheese manufacturing equipment alongside Rodda’s existing operations. Once fully operational, the site is expected to produce up to 4,000 tonnes of cottage cheese annually and create up to 20 new skilled jobs in the region.

The investment comes as the UK cottage cheese category experiences rapid growth, driven by changing dietary habits and increasing consumer interest in protein-rich, natural dairy products. According to Worldpanel by Numerator data for the 52 weeks ending 28 December 2025, UK cottage cheese market spend increased by 41.9% to £102.2 million, while purchase volumes rose 28.1% to 25.6 million kilograms.

Additional data from NIQ Homescan POD shows monthly UK cottage cheese sales volumes grew by approximately 88% between early 2023 and December 2025, prompting manufacturers to increase production capacity to keep pace with supermarket demand.

Rodda’s said the new facility will position the company among a small number of dedicated cottage cheese manufacturers in the UK, strengthening domestic dairy production capacity while enabling the business to diversify its product portfolio for major retailers.

The move also supports Rodda’s wider operational efficiency and sustainability ambitions. The company processes around 61 million litres of milk annually, with only around 7% historically used for its flagship clotted cream production. Much of the resulting skimmed milk has traditionally been sold back into the commodity market.

By manufacturing cottage cheese on site, Rodda’s aims to utilise more of its milk intake in value-added dairy products, improving overall yield and creating additional returns across its supply chain.

Talking about the rise in popularity of cottage cheese and the new investment, Nicholas Rodda, managing director of Rodda’s, said: "This facility allows us to respond to that demand while getting more value from every litre of milk we buy from our farming families. This more efficient use of our milk intake will not only support farmgate returns, but also provide more predictable demand for farming families in the Rodda’s supply chain, and strengthen domestic food production resilience.”

he project will introduce new automation technologies and production processes at the Scorrier site, while also supporting workforce development through upskilling programmes and technical dairy manufacturing roles.

The investment has received £500,000 in support from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, allocated by Cornwall Council via the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Good Growth Programme.

Production at the new facility is expected to begin this summer, while Rodda’s existing creamery operations, including clotted cream, butter and speciality milk production, will continue as normal.