Arla Foods has announced a commitment to take its export ambitions to meet increased demand for dairy products through ambitious exports.
The cooperative said the move 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 include state-of-the-art technology – enabling the business to export mozzarella that can be used for the likes of pizza toppings around the world. In addition to benefiting its farmer owners, one of the cooperative’s biggest ever investment in the UK will create over 100 skilled jobs for the Devon region.
Bas Padberg, managing director of Arla Foods UK, noted the news as a momentous occasion for the UK business.
“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,” Padberg said. “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 he is excited to see how the plans at Taw Valley Creamery progress over the coming years, as Arla continues to work to ensure all Arla farmer owners receive the best price for their milk.
Speaking about the investment in the UK market, Peter Giortz-Carlsen, COO of Arla Foods Europe, added: “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.
