COVA Spotlight: Winter Butter for Puff Pastry
Tirlán’s COVA Program Drives Cost Reduction and Adds Value Across All Teams
In April, we introduced COVA to you. Tirlán’s COVA (Cost Out, Value Add) program is a company-wide initiative designed to either reduce costs or add value through transformative projects. It includes rigorous and independent financial verification, and every function, team, and individual plays a role.
Motto: Everybody–Everyday–Improving
We would like to introduce a Value Add Focus. Value Add initiatives targets higher-margin products with the aim of increasing sales. A notable example of this effort is the Winter Butter project.
Winter Butter for Puff Pastry
Winter butter is produced during the colder months when cows are housed indoors. This results in butter with a harder texture and distinct flavour profile compared to summer butter.
Why It Matters
These characteristics make winter butter ideal for baking and pastry applications, particularly in the high-value industrial butter market. With rising demand and static supply, this presents a strategic opportunity for Tirlán to add mutual value for both customers and the business.
To strengthen Tirlán’s leadership in the butterfats category, the team aimed to create a functional winter butter tailored for laminated pastry applications like puff pastry and Viennoiserie.
Customer-Led Innovation
The project was driven by understanding the needs of our customer. Key bakery industry leaders were engaged to define the specific functional properties needed for successful lamination. These partnerships helped refine the product to meet real-world baking demands.
In 2020, the Commercial team launched a butter mapping project to analyse butter properties throughout the year. Simultaneously, R&D began collecting data on:
- Product performance
- Cream treatment
- Functional requirements for baking and pastry
Trial and Testing
Over three years (2022–2024), 17 plant trials were conducted. These trials, supported by technical projects, helped meet the defined requirements. The Applications team demonstrated Tirlán’s competitive edge over European alternatives.
The project was tracked via the Butterfats hub, focusing on:
- New material and product specifications
- Forecasting
- Customer acquisition
Marketing Execution
To promote the new product, marketing materials were developed and shared through:
- Webinars
- eShots
- Videos
- Food Ingredients First platform
Commercialisation and Customer Feedback
The Winter Butter for Puff Pastry was commercialised in 2024. Partner customers began using it in their bakery production.
Customer Success Story
Belgian bakery specialist Vandemoortelle reported positive results:
“Winter butter for pastry application was utilised in application and we are very satisfied with the performance.”
Collaboration with Vandemoortelle led to a new initiative: Project Humour 2.0, which aims to:
- Maximise winter butter production across both churns in Ballyragget
- Produce Bakery Butter during the summer for bakery and filled Viennoiserie applications
This cross-functional project will further increase volumes of value-add functional butter.
The Winter Butter Project marks a major advancement in the butterfats category. Key achievements include:
- Meeting customer needs through collaboration
- Delivering value-added butter without capital expenditure
- Generating a premium over market benchmarks
The project has successfully positioned Tirlán as a market leader in the butterfats category, especially in high-value pastry sectors like puff pastry and Viennoiserie.
If you would like to learn more about the Winter Butter for Puff Pastry value add project please do not hesitate to contact Olwyn Pentinga on email – opentinga@tirlan.ie
