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Arla Foods has announced a new five-year growth strategy for its UK business, that includes investments in sustainability, innovation and capacity. The dairy manufacturer said that it is planning long-term investments in its UK supply chain, key sales channels and brands such as Arla Cravendale, Arla B.O.B, Arla Lactofree, Lurpak, Starbucks and Anchor. Arla will also explore the possibility of exporting out of the UK for the first time. Over the next five years, the company is seeking to grow its UK business through innovation in categories like liquid milk, yogurts, butter and spreads, milk-based beverages and cheese. Arla's ambition is to grow the branded share of revenue from 38% to 45%. Arla Foods UK's managing director, Ash Amirahmadi, said: “This growth and value-up ambition is about improving the value of dairy for our consumers through high-quality products that meet their demands, for our retail and foodservice customers as we add category value and growth, and for farmers through a sustainable farmgate price”. Additionally, as part of this initiative, the co-op hopes to recruit new farmers to meet the growing demand for milk, with global demand for dairy expected to increase by 2% year on year over the next five years. Amirahmadi added: “While we are not recruiting as of now, we will also investigate opportunities to gradually open up for new members or contracted milk who share our farmers’ commitment to producing high-quality milk more sustainably”.