Tirlán has added another leg to its US butter expansion through its hugely increased supply deal with Whole Foods, which sees its Truly Grass Fed (TGF) butter brand for sale in more than 350 of the high-end store’s outlets.

Perhaps the most surprising thing that emerged was the revelation that the Tirlán brand is listed at a higher retail price in Whole Foods than Kerrygold, the original and by far the biggest-selling Irish grass-fed butter brand in the US.

Sources in the US, however, have informed the Irish Farmers Journal that while the list price is above Kerrygold, there is in-store discounting underway which drops the price well below that of Kerrygold.

Across major retailers in the US the pricing of Kerrygold is fairly consistent, with the product least expensive in the members-only Costco chain (see figure 1).

Of the major retailers examined, TGF seems to be currently available only in Costco and Whole Foods. There is a big difference between the list price in the two outlets, with a 2lb pack of TGF 40% cheaper in Costco than an equivalent purchase at Whole Foods.

Tirlán recently agreed to supply butter to Costco’s own Kirkland brand. Kirkland butter currently retails at less than half the price of TGF in Whole Foods.

It is possible that as Tirlán increases its supplies to Costco’s own brand, the supermarket chain could stop listing TGF, leaving that brand with only one major US outlet – Whole Foods.

This might go some way towards explaining the price difference. If Tirlán truly sees TGF’s place in the world at the most expensive end of the most expensive grocery chain in the US, then a high retail price is probably a requirement.

However, in order to attract customers in the first place, Tirlán is currently undertaking what the company calls “in-store activations” to increase consumer knowledge of the brand. The significant discounts currently available – at around $1 per half-pound of butter – are presumably part of that activation.

It will be interesting to see how the listed retail price develops, and whether TGF can successfully differentiate itself from its hugely more successful competitor, Kerrygold.