Fonterra offloads stake in whey protein joint venture to First Milk

British dairy cooperative First Milk has acquired Fonterra’s 51% stake in the Fast Forward joint venture the companies set up in 2011.

As of July 2019, First Milk will become the sole owner of the whey protein concentrate manufacturing facilities based at the joint venture’s Lake District creamery in the UK.

The announcement comes as First Milk reveals a new strategic partnership with Havero Hoogwegt for global sales and distribution of whey protein concentrate.

Netherlands-based Havero Hoogwegt is part of the Hoogwegt Group and supplies proteins to more than 50 counties. The firm is an existing First Milk partner.

First Milk chief executive Shelagh Hancock said: “The added value protein market continues to grow with applications for high-quality whey products, such as WPC80, in the expanding sports nutrition and functional foods categories.

“We are delighted to take over full ownership of our well-invested whey processing facility at our Lake District creamery and to confirm our new sales and distribution partnership with Havero Hoogwegt.

“Backed by their unique global network and team of commercial, technical and logistics experts, I am confident they are well-placed to maximise the market potential of our WPC80 production for mutual benefit.”

Freek-Jan van der Puijl, managing director of Havero Hoogwegt, added: “We see First Milk as an experienced producer of WPC of consistently high quality and with a good reputation. We are proud to enter this partnership, which enables us to further grow and strengthen our global market position, allowing us to create best value for our partners.”