Press release

Britain's number one dairy company unveils next stage of its development

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Arla Foods UK, the largest dairy company in the country, is embarking on the next stage of its development to add value and bring innovation to the UK dairy sector as well as meet future competition in what is currently a challenging dairy market and grocery sector, ultimately for the benefit of its farmer owners.

The company has invested over £500 million in its UK business over recent years to create the solid platform from which it now operates including its merger with Milk Link, opening the world’s largest fresh milk facility at Aylesbury, and recruiting circa 3,000 British farmers into its cooperative, as well as building a much improved supply chain.  It is now taking the natural step to tighten its organisation through a restructure that will increase its focus on building its brands, up-weight its innovation and deliver even more for its customers.    

Arla has a good platform from which to operate and now plans to restructure its business so that it can further invest in its commercial and marketing areas as well as become more agile, efficient and competitive.  As a result of this, Arla is proposing a reduction of around 100 positions and those affected will be entering into a consultation process. 

Peter Giørtz-Carlsen, Arla Foods UK, Executive Vice President, said:  “I know that there are many more opportunities open for us to drive dairy further and that we can make it even more exciting for our customers and consumers.  The changes that we have announced will enable us to dial-up our innovation and use the inherent healthy credentials that dairy has to offer.  We have ambitious plans next year including further investment in our Arla brand and launching a range of new products in our current and new categories.”

“We will be working across our organisation to limit the number of proposed redundancies and I understand that this will be an uncertain time for some of our colleagues and their families.  However, the plans that we are announcing today, will leave us better placed to remain the strongest and best performing dairy company in the future."

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