Tirlán, the new name for Glanbia Ireland and Glanbia Co-op, has officially launched its rebrand on the international stage in Japan.

The new entity was presented to buyers and customers at an event in Tokyo attended by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, as part of the trade mission he is leading in Asia.

Glanbia Ireland first entered the Japanese market 22 years ago, focusing on cheese exports to begin with.

In 2019, the company started supplying milk protein to the country.

Director of ingredients with Tirlán, Aoife Murphy, explained that Japan is a premium marketplace and the company sees "great potential" to grow its cheese and protein offerings in the country.

The rebrand, which was announced in Kilkenny earlier this week, follows the co-op's purchase of the remaining 40% stake in Glanbia Ireland from Glanbia plc.

“Bringing it back to the land is about who we are as a farming organisation, it all starts here," Murphy told those gathered in the Okura Hotel.

The new name, which combines the Irish words 'Tír' for land and 'Lán', stands for 'land of abundance'.

However, it has come in for some criticism due to the absence of the fada over the 'i'.

“What we are trying to do is get a name that resonates with our people, with our farmers as well. But we also need to be able to bring this name internationally.

She admitted that rebranding an international company, which supplies 400,000t of product into 80 countries, is "very difficult".

Tirlán staff will be working both on the ground with customers and at major trade fairs to advertise the name change.

"We are the same people and it's the same products, but with a different name," Murphy noted.