Press release

Arla Foods wins Waitrose supplier award

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Arla Foods, the farmer-owned dairy company, has been awarded the 2014 Supplier Award for Collaborative Working by food retailer Waitrose.

The company which supplies Waitrose with own-label as well as branded cheese, butter and fresh milk products has triumphed for adding value to the retailer’s dairy category. Selected examples include improving in-store navigation and customer engagement, tailored customer activation through Waitrose’s media channels (Waitrose Kitchen, Waitrose Weekend, Waitrose On-Line etc.), and taking the lead in format planning such as Little Waitrose (Convenience).

A close working partnership with Waitrose’s internal team, improving working practices, fostering a strong innovation pipeline (leveraging ASIC), and supplying products of market-leading quality helped Arla to support Waitrose’s overall market performance.

Arla’s farmer-owned status complements Waitrose’s principles and long-term dairy ambition for all products to come from sources with market-leading practices. These principles include that suppliers should have the highest level of animal welfare, are strong and well invested, add value at every level and have a clear innovation strategy as well as effective world-class operations.

James Pirie, Arla’s senior director for the Waitrose account, said: 

“The Waitrose and Arla ownership models are a perfect fit, with both organisations deeply aware of the responsibilities of a cooperative structure. Sharing a common philosophy, purpose and vision provides a strong platform for an exciting, progressive and long-term partnership.”

Anna Lloyd, buying manager, dairy at Waitrose explains:

“This award is testament to the hard work that has gone into developing a proactive, collaborative relationship between Waitrose and Arla. The Arla team understands our business and our customers, allowing us to focus on working together seamlessly to deliver relevant and inspiring products for our customers.”

Arla Foods is a global dairy company and co-operative owned by 13,500 dairy farmers circa 3,000 of whom are British.　

Dating back to 1881, Arla’s purpose is to secure the highest value for its farmers’ milk, while creating opportunities for their growth. With production facilities in 11 countries and sales offices in a further 30, Arla is the world’s sixth largest dairy company and largest supplier of organic dairy products.　 Arla has a total of more than 18,000 colleagues and its products are sold under the well-known brands Arla®, Lurpak® and Castello® in more than 100 countries.

Arla Foods UK is the largest dairy company in the country and is home to leading dairy brands Anchor, Cravendale, and Lactofree. It processes 3.5 billion litres of milk a year and has a turnover of £2.2 billion. As well as being number one in fresh liquid milk, butter, spreads and cream, Arla is the UK’s largest cheese manufacturer. It has also built the world’s largest fresh milk facility located at Aylesbury and has plans for it to be the first zero carbon site of its kind. The UK business has a team of approximately 4,000 colleagues located at its dairies, distribution centres and head office.

Press contact

Primary

Arla Foods UK Press Office

Arla UK (media queries only, no new business or sponsorship requests)

felicity.callaghan@arlafoods.com 07966136112