Irish butter brands are doing battle on US shop shelves once again, with Tirlán’s Truly Grass Fed brand now being stocked in Costco stores across the US.

Costco is a membership warehouse-style supermarket, with over 600 stores in the US.

Costco shoppers now have three Irish brands to choose from in the grass-fed butter category.

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Ornua’s Kerrygold and Kerry Dairy Ireland’s Golden Irish brand are also in the mix.

Truly Grass Fed and Kerrygold are in direct competition, with both offering a box of four blocks of butter, with a total weight of 908g.

There is a difference in price. Costco’s website this week shows that Kerrygold is retailing at $19.28 (€16.72), while Truly Grass Fed is coming in at $16.90 (€14.66).

Kerry’s Golden Irish spreadable butter tub, also weighing 908g, is coming in cheaper again at $14.18 (€12.30).

Competition

Truly Grass Fed is owned solely by Tirlán, whereas Kerrygold is owned by Ornua, of which Tirlán is one of seven co-op members.

Tirlán launched its grass-fed cheddar cheese brand into the US market back in 2018 and the butter brand followed in 2019.

In 2018, Tirlán, then called Glanbia Ireland, said it had “approached Ornua to jointly develop the Truly Grass Fed brand for the USA and fully shared all the market research. They declined the opportunity”.

CEO of Ornua at the time, John Jordan, told the Irish Farmers Journal that he was concerned that the move would “erode value for the Irish dairy industry and for Irish farmers”.

A Kerry Dairy Ireland spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal that Golden Irish launched into the US several years ago and is available at Costco. “We’re pleased with the consumer response to Golden Irish and the growing interest in Irish grass-fed dairy, which continues to resonate with US consumers for its taste, quality, and animal welfare credentials.”