Irish Dairy Board marks 40 years of buttering up Germany

When The Irish Times asked Germans what they associated with Ireland last year, just 3 per cent mentioned the euro crisis while 11 per cent mentioned Kerrygold butter.

This evening in Düsseldorf, the Irish Dairy Board (IDB) celebrates 40 years of buttering up the Germans with a gala dinner. On each table, no doubt, will be portions of what German Kerrygold advertisements call "the green isle's gold".

Selling a premium product so successfully to price-conscious German consumers is quite an achievement, but butter here has always been more than just a spread. "After the war, there was very little 'good' butter, so most families got the 'bad' butter, margarine," said Gisbert Kügler, managing director of IDB Deutschland.

Younger generations, meanwhile, have been bombarded with slick advertisements. With a 16.8 per cent market share, Kerrygold is the undisputed leader in the premium butter market.

But IDB Deutschland is feeling the heat from the Danish dairy giant Arla and its spreadable butter, Kaergaaden. Since 2009, the IDB has played catch-up with its own spreadable butter, Kerrygold Extra.

Mr Kügler is confident the diversification won't dilute its core product: butter. "We had a turnover in Germany of €280 million last year, a growth of 27 per cent on the previous year – and that with a premium product."