In the United States, PepsiCo Inc has ended its yogurt joint venture with Germany’s Theo Müller Group, citing weak sales as the reason for the decision.
On closing the joint venture, the two companies have sold their dairy plant in Batavia, New York, to Dairy Farmers of America for an undisclosed amount.
Aiming to take a slice of the fast-growing American yogurt market, Müller Quaker Dairy LLC started selling products in the United States in 2012 and opened its $200 million plant in Batavia in 2013.
At the opening of the plant, attended by Theo Müller Group owner Theo Müller, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi said: “We have invested over many years to expand our global nutrition offerings in ways that allow us to capitalise on new growth opportunities, and the new Muller Quaker Dairy facility demonstrates continued progress against this key business priority.”
Announcing the end of the joint venture, PepsiCo said the two companies agreed to shut it down “after determining that the business was not meeting expectations in a competitive and dynamic marketplace.
“We are also pleased to know that DFA, the nation’s leading milk marketing cooperative, with nearly 1,400 member farms in New York alone, intends to continue to invest in the community and further expand their production and agricultural presence in the state.”
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