Graham's aims to beat Germans at their own game

Graham's The Family Dairy is expanding its product range with the launch of quark '“ a type of fat-free soft cheese that is particularly popular in Germany.

Robert Graham said the dairy's quark was 'superior' to German rivals. Picture: Chris Watt

The Bridge of Allan-based firm said that about 16 per cent of people in Scotland had already tried the protein-rich cheese, which can be eaten on its own or used in sweet and savoury dishes.

Managing director Robert Graham said: “The majority of quark on offer in the UK is imported from Germany and we firmly believe that ours is a superior, smoother and hugely versatile quark that tastes fantastic.

“New product development is crucial for our business and we’re delighted to be entering this market at what is an exciting time of growth for the product. We’ve a large number of great listings across the UK and we plan to expand our reach further in the coming months.”

Available in both natural and vanilla flavours, Graham’s quark will be stocked by “big four” supermarket chains Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons as well as discount rivals Aldi and Lidl.

Graham’s already supplies milk, butter and cheese to Lidl, and the German-owned chain said earlier this week that it would be adding ice cream to the list of the dairy’s products sold across its 91 stores in Scotland. The “multi-million pound” deal will see the retailer sell the ice cream under its Aberdoyle Dairies brand.

Lidl’s senior buyer in Scotland, Paul McQuade, said: “Lidl have worked closely with Graham’s for over a decade to ensure our customers receive a wide variety of quality Scottish dairy products. We have now developed an own-label ice cream range produced using Scottish milk and double cream which we expect to go down very well with Lidl shoppers.”