Abernethy Butter listed by Selfridges in London
Article written by Sam Butler -20th October 2016
Handcrafted Abernethy Butter is now on sale in Selfridges in London following the latest deal for the Northern Ireland artisan producer.
Selfridges is stocking all three handmade butters produced by the family owned and run business – Original, Smoked and Dulse (Northern Irish seaweed) with Sea Salt.
The company, which is run by husband and wife team, Allison and Will Abernethy, and based at Dromara in county Down, has won a series of UK Great Taste Awards for its products which also include butter fudge.
The couple use fresh milk sourced from a local dairy farm and have complete control over the production, packaging and distribution of the products.
Abernethy’s smoked butter won three stars in the recent Great Taste Awards and was listed among the Top 50 Foods by the Guild of Fine Food. The deal with Selfridges is a direct result of the company’s listing in the Top 50.
Selfridges is the third iconic London store to list the butters, which are already on sale in both Harrods and Fortnum and Mason. The butters, in addition, are preferred by top chefs such as Heston Blumenthal and Marcus Wareing.
Allison Abernethy, commenting on the deal with Selfridges, says: “We were delighted when Selfridges approached us about listing our butters. It’s tremendously exciting to see our products now on sale in the store. It’s another marvellous endorsement of the consistent high quality and outstanding taste of our handmade and hand rolled butters. We look forward to working with Selfridges to promote the products and, of course, increase sales.”
Allison and Will Abernethy inherited their butter making skills from previous family generations and in 2005 decided to turn what then was a hobby into a family business.
Initially going to local agricultural and vintage shows to demonstrate how cream is churned and turned into butter, they soon realised there was a demand for their product.
The early market of Northern Ireland has now expanded to many prestigious shops and restaurants throughout the UK and beyond.
