Arla Foods, the UK’s largest dairy co-operative, has announced an investment of over £179m in the UK over the next three years to enable the business to export mozzarella.
The co-op says this is part of its commitment to take its export ambitions to “the next level”, adding that it “believes in facilitating the increased demand for dairy products through ambitious exports, as this reflects the cooperative’s commitment to its farmer owners to return the best price for their milk”.
As part of the investment, Arla’s Devon based creamery, Taw Valley, will be updated to with new technology. It is one of the co-operative’s biggest ever investments in the UK and is expected to create over 100 skilled jobs for the Devon region.
Managing director Bas Padberg said: “Today is a momentous occasion for our UK business, and we are so proud to be announcing this news to our farmer owners, colleagues and customers. As one of the biggest food companies in the UK, it is only natural that we look for further opportunities to grow so we can continue to return a fair price back to our farmer owners. We want to continue to increase the value of our farmer owners’ milk, which we believe can be achieved through exploring further export opportunities.”
Arla Foods UK board director, and Arla farmer, Arthur Fearnall, said: “We are incredibly proud to see the UK business receive this significant investment. We’re excited to see how the plans at Taw Valley Creamery progress over the coming years, as we continue to work together to ensure all Arla farmer owners receive the best price for their milk.”
Peter Giortz-Carlsen, COO of Arla Foods Europe, said: “Our mozzarella business has seen double-digit growth over the past five years and we have strong relationships with key customers, particularly in global foodservice, and it’s from that very solid starting point we are announcing the investment today.
“But we also know that we have to work hard to maintain that position amongst the global leaders in the category and deliver on our strategy. This investment allows us to stay among the leaders within mozzarella, serve our customers even better and at the same time improve profitability for our farmer owners’ milk.”
The plans to export mozzarella will start in 2027, but over the next few years, Arla will be making significant changes to Taw Valley Creamery to allow the cooperative to export its products in the near future.