Does Aldi's Irish Butter Really Come Straight From Ireland?

There are loads of Aldi products that taste like the real thing — from prebiotic sodas to sweet Hawaiian rolls. Moreover, many of these dupes are also listed at a much lower price. Such is the case of Aldi's Irish butter, which is an affordable dupe for Kerrygold. But is the Aldi butter from Ireland? While Kerrygold's website says its butter is made from the milk of cows raised on Irish farms and it's a product of Ireland, Aldi's Countryside Creamery Pure Irish Butter has a label that says "Imported from Ireland." To understand what that really means, you have to dig into American food labeling laws.

Based on U.S. country of origin marking regulations, the country of origin of imported products must be labeled on the packaging. The "Imported from Ireland" claim means the finished butter itself originated from Ireland, though there is no exact evidence where the milk is sourced from. This label confirms that this butter comes from Ireland, but it is not confirmation that the milk used to make it definitely comes from Irish cows. If this doesn't matter to you, then this Irish butter is a great option to buy. Many Aldi shoppers believe this butter is creamy and delicious, and the perfect cheaper alternative to Kerrygold's Irish butter. 

Kerrygold butter will always have a spot in our fridge, but Aldi's dupe is giving it some serious competition. According to shoppers, this butter tastes near identical to Kerrygold's. Furthermore, Aldi's Countryside Creamery Butter is made from grass-fed cows, much like Kerrygold's, leading some shoppers on Reddit to believe that it is produced by the same manufacturer. Former Aldi employees even claim this butter is sold by Kerrygold to Aldi with minor changes. Both butters have the same ingredients: pasteurized cream and salt. Both salted butters also have the same butterfat content of 80% (though Kerrygold's unsalted version has 82% butterfat). 

That said, there is no direct evidence or confirmation from either brand on whether or not Kerrygold may not be selling its butter to Aldi under a private label. Shoppers remain divided on whether or not they are the same product — some say that Kerrygold's butter offers a richer flavor compared to Aldi's, while others claim it's hard to tell the difference between the two. Although it's unclear if Aldi's butter is Kerrygold in disguise or whether it's made with milk from Irish cows, it's no doubt a tasty product that's worth a buy.