Cheshire Cheese Company Adds Delivery Options

Explosive eCommerce growth can cripple a business if delivery infrastructure can’t keep pace. While Cheshire Cheese Company had its product, brand and demand firmly in place, its delivery management wasn’t built to scale.

By partnering with Whistl Parcels, the premium food retailer gained the flexibility, control and resilience needed to manage higher order volumes and a growing range of product types — all supported by a wide choice of carrier partners.

Building a bold, modern cheese brand

Founded in 2010 by Simon Spurrell and Richard Buxton, Cheshire Cheese Company was born from a desire to challenge the cheese industry’s traditionally “olde-world and serious” image.

With Simon’s background in graphic design and branding, and the discovery of exceptional cheesemaker David Williams, the brand quickly carved out a distinctive position. Its playful tagline — “the only cheese that makes you grin” — reflects a tone that’s cheeky, fun and unmistakably modern.

A truly multi-channel retail model

Multi-channel from day one, Cheshire Cheese Company sells through:

• Its eCommerce website

• Local artisan markets across the UK

• National shows such as the Ideal Home Show and The Good Food Expo

• Brick-and-mortar Cheese & Wine Emporiums across the Midlands and North West

• A growing wholesale operation, led by director Laurence Bass

To support continued growth, the wholesale division recently expanded its warehouse footprint by 80%, increasing capacity to 18,000 sq ft.

Building brand loyalty through community

At the heart of Cheshire Cheese Company’s success is a loyal and engaged customer base.

The Cheshire Cheese Club, with more than 40,000 members, offers food lovers a 10% discount across all channels and early access to exclusive products.

“To increase brand loyalty, our brand advocates are the first to try new flavours, such as our recently introduced gin, rhubarb and ginger varieties,” explains Simon Spurrell.

“We now have over 40,000 members, many of whom inspire our new product development.”

This close connection to customers enables the business to respond quickly to evolving tastes — a strategy that has delivered standout results.

Responding to consumer trends at speed

Keeping pace with food trends has been critical to sustained growth. A prime example is the launch of Gin & Lemon Cheshire Cheese, which went viral after being featured in publications including Cosmopolitan and Vogue.

The result? Over 60,000 units sold in a single month.

Over the past decade, the product range has expanded from 30 to more than 150 cheeses, chutneys, accessories and gift hampers. Many have emerged from long-term collaborations with artisan producers, alongside strategic partnerships with brands such as Virgin Wines and Oz Clarke’s Three Wine Men.

Integrating carrier options for scale

As eCommerce volumes increased, delivery quickly became a bottleneck.

“Our online store initially ran on OSCommerce, before migrating to Magento within two years,” says Simon.

“We then added eBay and Amazon, integrating all channels through a central order management system.”

While payments, listings and inventory were under control, shipping wasn’t. Direct carrier integrations proved time-consuming and error-prone — particularly during periods of peak demand.

Following extensive research, Whistl Parcels was recommended by a trusted delivery partner.

Why Whistl Parcels?

Whistl Parcels delivered immediate, tangible benefits:

• Seamless integration with Magento and marketplace channels

• Rapid label processing and automated despatch

• Access to multiple carriers through a single platform

• Reduced operational risk during peak periods

Previously, failed consignments required significant manual intervention. With Whistl Parcels, delivery processes became both scalable and reliable — removing a major barrier to growth.

Greater flexibility and operational control

Seasonality plays a major role in demand, with nearly two-thirds of annual sales occurring in the run-up to Christmas. Valentine’s Day, Halloween and Bonfire Night are also growing rapidly, supported by occasion-led products such as the Strawberries, Cream & Champagne Cheshire Heart.

Whistl Parcels’ multi-carrier solution gave the team the flexibility to adapt:

“Some carriers simply aren’t suitable for certain parcel sizes or international shipments,” explains Simon.

“Processing 100–150 orders used to take over three hours. After support from Whistl Parcels’ development team, we can now process 150 orders in under five minutes.”

Pre-set service preferences allow the team to switch carriers quickly, ensuring the best possible delivery experience — even during seasonal spikes.

Overcoming the challenges of rapid growth

Since 2009, annual growth has averaged around 30%. Last year, driven by increased brand exposure and trend-led innovation, sales surged by 70%, creating significant fulfilment challenges.

“At Christmas, we experienced a huge influx of orders — thousands in just a few days,” says Simon.

“Thanks to Whistl Parcels’ rapid processing and scaling our workforce during peak periods, we fulfilled every order. Despite a 400% increase in volume, customer complaints were minimal.”

Since switching to Whistl Parcels’ carrier network, complaint rates have fallen from 12% to under 3%.

Proactive SMART Notifications have also dramatically reduced tracking queries, saving valuable time for customer service teams.

Looking ahead

Cheshire Cheese Company shows no signs of slowing down. Plans include:

• Launching five new flavours each year

• Expanding the product range further

• Introducing a fully integrated mobile eCommerce app for iOS and Android

• Expanding international distribution to Australia, Canada, South Africa, the USA and New Zealand

About Whistl Parcels

Whistl Parcels is a multi-carrier shipping and eCommerce customer services solution, built to support growing retailers, brands and wholesalers.

Flexible and scalable, Whistl Parcels integrates seamlessly with order management systems, providing a single access point to many of the UK’s leading domestic and international parcel carriers.

Through pooled volumes and smart technology, businesses gain access to discounted rates, proactive parcel management and a delivery experience designed to scale with demand.