What is your outlook for dairy markets?

As dairy is a globally traded commodity, macroeconomic events have an overinflated effect on prices. The tariffs that the US and China are imposing on each other are certainly affecting dairy markets as it is causing a shift in product sourcing. However, I’m just back from China and I can tell you demand is still pretty strong there. Infant formula demand in China is weaker because the birth rate has fallen.

What is the effect of last year’s spike in butter prices?

Demand for butter is challenged at the minute. On the retail side, butter sales are still quite strong. However, many food manufacturers that make biscuits, croissants and other baked goods have reformulated their recipes to exclude butter as an ingredient because of the spike in prices in 2017 and 2018. This is the biggest weight on milk prices at the moment. I’m worried that some of that demand might not come back because of how high the price of butter went last year.

How prepared is Kerry Group for Brexit?

Kerry is as well positioned for Brexit as it possibly can be. We have spent €5m so far this year on Brexit preparations. We have restructured our business in the UK so that it’s now almost totally serviced from the UK market. We have very little exposure between the UK and Ireland or Europe.

How do you think Brexit will unfold?

It’s very hard to predict right now. There is a huge amount of uncertainty and businesses are holding off on investment decisions and there are no major purchases being made. My biggest concern is the effect that Brexit is having on the domestic consumption of the UK consumer. Right now, we see the UK market as being soft from a demand perspective. Even if there is a really orderly Brexit, I don’t necessarily see any significant improvement in UK consumer demand in the short-term.

How big is the plant-based protein trend?

It is a major trend. Right now, we’re in the second generation of plant-based offerings. At the beginning of the plant-based trend, what we saw was that customers were really working hard to get a product to market at speed. Now, consumers are demanding that the quality of plant-based products is much better in terms of flavour and texture but, most importantly, in terms of the nutritional value of the product. We are very well positioned to help our customers meet this new consumer demand.

Does Kerry Group have any deals in the pipeline?

Acquisitions have always been an important part of the Kerry story. I would say that Kerry Group has a core competency for identifying, evaluating, integrating and generating value from acquisitions. In recent years, Kerry’s spend on acquisitions has been around €500m to €800m per annum and our spending will broadly be in line with this over the next 18 months.