Shoppers at Costco are now able to buy butter from Tirlán through the supermarket’s Kirkland Signature brand.

The butter, priced at $10.99 (€9.77) per 2lb pack, is just over one quarter less than Kerrygold in the same stores.

A 2lb pack of the Ornua product retails at $14.99 (€13.32).

Interestingly, it will not be immediately clear to shoppers that they are buying Irish butter when they choose the Kirkland brand.

Previously, the butter had “product of New Zealand” on the front of the packaging. The new product has no origin called out on the front, instead having “product of Ireland” listed in the ingredients and nutrition information on the back of the pack (see images below).

The butter does continue to call out its “95% grass-fed butter” standard on the front of the packaging.

While it remains to be seen how much this product will eat into Kerrygold’s butter market share in the US, Ornua has warned that if the premium value associated with Kerrygold is lost, it will have lasting consequences for the Irish dairy sector.

Irish Farmers Association dairy chair Martin McElearney warned this week that a “race to the bottom” and a reliance on own-brand products could ultimately put pressure on returns to farmers.