Pont Gâr - A cheese is born!

Tuesday 13 Jun 2006

Launch of new Welsh brand  - Pont Gâr

April 2006 saw the birth of a brand new soft cheese for Wales from its dairy heartland, Carmarthenshire.

Pont Gâr  - a branded soft cheese range is the latest development in the recent revival of Welsh cheesemaking and marks a first for soft cheese development in Wales.

The Carmarthenshire Cheese Company Ltd (Cwmni Caws Caerfyrddin Cyf), was founded in February 2006 by co-owners  Steve and Sian Elin Peace. Three years ago the couple returned to Sian Elin's native Carmarthenshire following 25 years each of senior experience in the UK dairy industry.

Since returning, they have been running their own business support company, Datrys Solutions Cyf. providing business and technology support to a range of new and established food and dairy companies in England and Wales.

From their consultancy work, the couple spotted a gap in the market for a distinctive soft and speciality cheese business in Wales which has led to the establishment of the new company currently at the Food Park, Horeb, Llandysul.

Commenting Steve said, "We worked at breakneck speed to create a state of the art manufacturing facility as well as developing new products to maximize local milk supplies using new, unique recipes. Just 15 days after taking the keys, we were processing Welsh milk for trial batches. Fortunately they passed technical and most importantly, consumer tests with flying colours! -  we've now been in business over 12 months!"

Acknowledging that establishing a strong product identity would be a key asset in the business's success, the couple have invested significantly in professional branding and promotion, commissioning Welsh food and bilingual branding specialists FBA in Aberystwyth to develop an unique brand for the new range of cheese's. The agency is widely known for its pioneering work with brand such as Halen Môn, Cadog and Rachel's Organic.

Commenting FBA's Director of Design, Meirion Wyn Jones said, "The brief was for a clean modern, European approach to reflect the pure nature of the product and its simplicity. Provenance is also a key factor in marketing cheese and therefore we have again focused on a distinctive bilingual design. The brand name Pont Gâr is very accessible and easy to pronounce whilst being distinctly different, being both Welsh and European."

In Welsh (and French!), 'Pont' means bridge and Gâr derives from Sir Gâr, Welsh for Carmarthenshire. Gâr is also linked to the Welsh word for love (caru) – hence the abstract heart motif and the well-known Welsh phrase 'Pur o Galon' pure from the heart as a strapline.