Food Academy
Select your county and town below to view your nearest store. Each store has information on opening hours, contact details and store offerings. Just click on the store and you’ll find these details below.
No store selected
Kerry Kefir
Having suffered from digestive issues (IBS) for years, Mary-Thea Brosnan was prescribed tablets to be taken before every meal for the rest of her life. She spent years looking to help her symptoms through diet until a nutritionist advocated milk kefir, a fermented milk beverage packed full of beneficial bacteria and yeast for your gut health.
Mary-Thea sourced kefir grains and started making it herself. Within a week, the kefir had made a huge difference to her symptoms and she told everyone about the transformation.
She noticed that none of the milk kefirs on the market were made in the traditional way using kefir grains but were instead using powdered, lab-manufactured cultures. Kefir grains are symbiotic cultures of yeast and bacteria, living in harmony together. The grains themselves are believed to have originated in the Caucasus mountains and have existed for over 2000 years, being passed down from generation to generation. Mary-Thea decided to create a premium product using the living organisms to produce the most natural form of milk kefir as it was traditionally made.
After 14 years living in Dublin, she moved home to Castleisland in Co. Kerry in October 2018 to start Kerry Kefir. She continued to work part-time as an Optometrist (she has a BSc in Optometry) before going full-time with Kerry Kefir in January 2020.
Starting the company in her parents’ kitchen, she soon moved to a converted truck container behind the house. For the first year, she sold directly to customers in Castleisland but is now stocked in SuperValu stores in Kerry and has an online delivery service direct to the customer.
Kerry Kefir is the only milk kefir in Ireland made purely the traditional way by using the living organisms i.e. kefir grains. This method of small batch fermentation is an ancient craft, where no heat or outside resources are used in the production of the product. Kerry Kefir is a premium product and it provides the consumer with all of the time-tested health benefits of traditional kefir as it was made over 2000 years ago.
Kerry Kefir aims to deliver their products in ethically sourced, sustainable packaging, that can be re-used where possible.
“We are passionate about gut health, natural produce and all aspects of sustainability from social to environmental. Everything we do, we do while valuing nature. We believe in being genuine. We want people to feel good, every day.”
SuperValu has been integral to the success of Kerry Kefir allowing Mary-Thea to showcase her product on their shelves. She won 'Best Wellness Drink' at the EVOKE Wellness Awards in 2026. Her plans for the future include a larger production facility, increasing output and hiring staff.
