The former dairy business of Kerry Group plc has rebranded as part of a buyout agreement.
Kerry Dairy Ireland will now be known as Kinisla. Its new name and corporate identity was unveiled in Listowel with the announcement of a €300m investment programme and 100 jobs today.
In December 2024, Kerry Co-Op was returned to majority farmer ownership with the acquisition of a 70% shareholding in Kerry Dairy Ireland. However the business did not acquire the right to permanently use the Kerry name.
Today the Taoiseach formally unveiled the new name and corporate identity.
The company said its new name reflects the two defining aspects of the business - its people (farmers, farm families, innovators and employees) and the island of Ireland, especially the distinctive landscape of the southwest.
Also in attendance were the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon, Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley, public representatives, milk suppliers, employees and customers, marking an important moment in the development of the business.
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Chief executive Pat Murphy said Kinisla performed strongly in 2025 with a turnover of €1.4 billion.
There has been significant growth in dairy consumer products and nutritional ingredients and these businesses are being targeted for international markets.
"Over the next five years, we will invest in the pillars of the business with the strongest growth potential, particularly Nutritional Ingredients and Dairy Consumer Foods," Mr Murphy said.
"That will include investment in manufacturing, innovation and sustainability, backed by a €300m capital programme. Our focus is on building a stronger, more scalable business that can deliver long-term growth, a competitive milk price and lasting value for our farmer-owners," he added.
Kinisla will now invest €300m over the next five years to develop these priority areas and expand higher value ingredients and branded snacking. There will also be 100 jobs coming on stream within the next two years.
It is over half a century since Kerry farmers decided to invest in a fledgling dairy co-op. Little did they know they were creating a cash cow bonanza for shareholders in the vast Kerry Group.
Some 12,000 ordinary investors went on to become multi-millionaires in a €500m restructuring deal 17 months ago.
James Tangney, Chair of Kinisla, said that 2025 was an important year for farmer members not least because of the return of majority ownership to Kerry Co-op, but because of what the business delivered in practice.
"Kinisla performed strongly, maintained a competitive milk price, processed over 1.2 billion litres of milk, and continued to strengthen the foundations for long-term growth," he said.
"This is a business that was built by farmers and is once again majority-owned by them, and this shapes everything we do," he said.
"The investment we are committing to over the next five years is about building a business that delivers on milk price, sustainability, and long-term growth. Kinisla is the identity under which we will successfully build that future for our farmers and the communities connected," he added.
Kinisla's brands include Dairygold butter Charleville cheese as well as Cheestrings, Kerrymaid and LowLow.
Kinisla launch shows strength of dairy industry, says Taoiseach
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was "delighted" to be present at the launch of Kinisla, adding that it illustrates the "strength of the Irish dairy industry".
"Particularly this company which employs up to, I think, 1,700 people, has access to so many markets across the world, some iconic brands and again it illustrates the importance of agriculture, farming and the agri-food industry and the dairy industry in particular to jobs in Ireland."
He said that it is a key indigenous industry that has the "capacity, has the excellence of quality and product to penetrate markets worldwide and we can never lose sight of that".
Speaking at the event in Kerry, the Taoiseach said he is working with the Minister for Agriculture and the Government to promote the best of Irish agri-food exports.
"We've a unique product here given the grass-based nature of milk production which I think gives us a particular advantage in terms of the purity, the quality and excellence of our product."
