How flavoured butter is shaking up the dairy aisle

Cheese used to be the most attractive offering in the dairy aisle – its myriad flavour profiles, origin and stories giving consumers a reason to point their trollies towards the chillers.

While cheese will never go out of fashion, it’s been joined in dairy recently by a steady flow of innovative niche products which are stopping shoppers in their tracks, and delivering greater dwell time in this space for retailers. From gut-friendly kefir to healthful yoghurts and raw milk…the category is opening up like never before.

A product starting to make its mark is flavoured (or compound) butter - fresh, British butter whipped or churned with sweet or savoury inclusions. 

Those leading the charge in this field say the reasons for its growing popularity are threefold. Firstly, it’s competing against oil, with sunflower and olive oil prices remaining high. Secondly, more shoppers are moving away from seed oils, seeking less processed fats for cooking and baking. And, thirdly, these ‘taste bombs’ are a way to up the ante in the kitchen, bringing new life and dimension to a variety of dishes with very little effort required. Oh, and who could forget the butter board trend? 

According to Statista, butter’s revenue in the UK stands at $1.43 billion this year, with the market expected to grow annually by 2.65% to 2029. 

The team at All Things Butter say another reason for growth is the fact the category has been dominated by traditional, heritage-led brands which “lack innovation”, suggesting challengers (those with bold branding, exciting flavours and a sustainable mission), are coming in to shake things up.

“More consumers are now seeking sustainable, unprocessed and British-born dairy products – meaning lower food miles – to incorporate into their everyday diets,” says says CEO and co-founder Toby Hopkinson.

“We believe that people are moving back to the way they used to shop,” adds Sarah Stokes of The Yorkshire Kitchen. “If you’re buying local produce that contains ingredients you can pronounce, from people who know the names of the animals, then you are all but guaranteeing a vast improvement in quality, health benefits, environmental impact, animal welfare and local economy.”

Consumer knowledge of all of the above, Sarah adds, is improving all the time and, “we’re now at a threshold where convenience and price are no longer an adequate trade-off for them.” Couple this with the demand for ‘newness’ across many areas of food and drink, says Sarah, and flavoured butters fit the bill.

Why is flavoured butter taking off?

All Things Butter founder, chef Thomas Straker, found enormous success on Instagram and TikTok during lockdown, gaining more than a billion views by infusing the best quality butter, with an overwhelming charge of engagement and interest in what he was doing.

“It’s a relatively new category to retail,” says the brand’s spokesperson, “and gaining in popularity, driven by brands like ours who are connecting with new consumers in a way that traditional dairy brands aren’t. It is seen by buyers as a key area of growth within dairy over the next five years.”

While chefs use butter in restaurants extensively, in a home setting, consumers have largely confined it as a spread for toast or sandwiches. But the tide is turning, as influencers like Thomas demonstrate its value. 

Sublime Butter managing director, Tony Ho, was a regular at a London steak club where bearnaise sauce and chimichurri dominated. But they were, he felt, time-consuming to make and required a lot of know-how to get right. “We knew that butter was an excellent vehicle for flavour and super easy to use so, on a whim, we decided to try making some compound butters with those classic flavour profiles. We were actually blown away by how good they were, so we did the rounds at butcher shops in our local area of Twickenham, and it turn out there was some serious interest.”

The spotlight, says Tony, is firmly pointed on flavoured butter at the moment as ‘one to watch’. “Lots of new brands are popping up and, honestly, we couldn’t be more thrilled. New competition keeps us hungry and, surprisingly, there’s not as much of a direct crossover as you might think. We’ve all got our target audiences, we all do things a little differently. The more brands pushing flavoured butter, the more customers seek it out.”

Sarah, whose whipped sweet and savoury butters arrive in shelf ambient jars, says she has been surprised by interest in the category. Her first venture into compound butter was churning it with brandy having found “shop bought stuff was heavy, grainy, full of unnecessary ingredients, and listed no provenance”.

The Yorkshire Kitchen’s all-natural butters, she says, hit the right note with shoppers and “highlighted a gap in the market in an area we were passionate about”. She and her husband dreamt up sweet butters that could be used on bread, scones, croissants, waffles, pancakes, desserts and more. “We simply couldn’t make them fast enough!”

The brand’s most popular flavour is Garlic & Herb, followed by Peppercorn, Mint, and Cajun, while it’s neck and neck in the sweet selection between Salted Caramel and Honey & Cinnamon.

All Things Butter’s range includes Salted, Unsalted, Garlic and Herb, Chilli and Cinnamon Bun. “British consumers are used to using butter in the morning for breakfast,” their spokesperson says, “but our flavoured butters aim to change that. Our butter is full of flavours that can be incorporated into many dishes made throughout the day – breakfast, lunch or dinner.”

The beauty of flavoured butter, they say, is its versatility, and the doors it can open for home cooks. “Garlic and Herb makes a great filling for stuffed chicken, Chilli on your roasted vegetables adds a spicy but smoky char, and adding Cinnamon Bun to French toast adds a rich, sweet flavour that’s unparalleled.”

The brand is always “trying to show consumers how easy it is to upgrade simple home recipes”, and says its engagement across social channels is double the industry average, “so we know that the nation is interested in using flavoured butters in their cooking at home”.

What makes a great flavoured butter?

“First and foremost the flavour has to have the right amount of intensity,” says Tony. “Too strong and it will be overpowering when served with bread or rested on protein. Too mild and it won’t hold up to the cooking process. You can achieve the right balance with high-quality ingredients and the correct amount of acidity.”

He advises retailers to be wary of cheaper flavoured butters which may rely on oils, oil suspensions and artificial flavourings in their formulations. “This will give you a short, simple spike of flavour that disappears from the palate very quickly – and it’ll go unnoticed if you try to cook with it.”

Look for a high percentage of milk solids, which will make a difference to how the butter tastes. “Our butter is made using grass-fed British dairy and runs at almost 82% butterfat for a rich, decadent mouthfeel that cheaper alternatives simply can’t match.”

Simply Butter’s bestseller is No.12 - Truffle, Parmesan & Black Pepper. “It’s just such an explosion of flavour. We’ve had so many people at shows try it and disappear from our stand, only to return an hour later with their full entourage in tow – just to try it before it sells out.”

“Without a doubt quality compound butter comes from quality ingredients,” Sarah agrees. “We use Yorkshire butter with a high butterfat content, and as many ingredients as possible come from Yorkshire – even our whisky!”

How to use flavoured butters

There are endless ways for consumers to use flavoured butters in their cooking, either as an ingredient to give a background note, or as a featured hero flavour. “Take our Garlic and Herb, for instance,” says All Things Butters’ spokesperson. “Yes it’s a spread, but it can also be used as a delicious pasta sauce. Each butter comes pre-infused with a variety of rich flavours, adding complexity and depth to each meal without the need for multiple ingredients or lengthy preparation.” And this fits neatly into the current ‘mood’ of shoppers for quick foodie fixes made using real ingredients.

“There’s really no wrong way to use them,” adds Tony. “If we’re going by the Sublime playbook though, you can use them as an everyday butter (on bread or crumpets), a resting butter (on steak, chicken and fish when serving), as a cook’s butter (in place of a roux, for instance), or simply dropped into your favourite sauce). Our Instagram feed is proof. People try all sorts of weird and wonderful things.”

Why should retailers be stocking flavoured butters?

Simply put, explains Sarah, they sell well. “Compound, whipped butters have a buzz around them in the industry. Top chefs have them on their menus, and quality farm shops have them in their chillers.” Butter is a staple, says Sarah, and shoppers are just now realising the “health benefits of using quality butter as opposed to chemically extracted oils from some exotic seed”.

Research shows that, due to cost-of-living pressures and the impact of inflation, more UK consumers are cooking restaurant quality food at home to save money, says All Things Butter. “Similarly, we’ve seen a significant move away from ultra processed foods,” the brand says. “In February 2024, 12.8 million shoppers changed their diets due to UPF fears, and 48% of shoppers now think butter is healthier than spreads.”

Retailers, their spokesperson adds, are “tapping into this growing category and increasing their overall product mix, as flavoured butters create more occasions to purchase than just breakfast, when used as a base for meals prepared throughout the day.”

Awareness of, and demand for, flavoured butter, is at an all-time high, says Tony, adding that this, coupled with the fact the products are “insanely easy to upsell” makes them a ‘no brainer’ for specialist retailers. “If you’re paying £90 for an incredible forerib of beef, what’s another fiver to add an award-winning basting butter to take it to the next level?”

There are lots of strategies for making easy sales, Tony adds, such as pre-portioning butters and packaging them directly on steaks or chops. “You can tack a good 50p to 60p or even £1 to the going rate of your protein eight times with just one roll of Sublime, and customers won’t think twice about it.”