​All ASDA fresh milk now carrying Arla farmer-owned marque

ASDA has confirmed all its own-label fresh milk in-store, supplied by farmer-owned Arla Foods, now carries the dairy cooperative’s responsibly sourced marque - the first major grocery retailer to achieve this.

Barry Williams, ASDA’s Chief Customer Officer commented: “Knowing where your food comes from, and trusting that farmers are being paid a fair price for what they produce, is as important to us as it is to our shoppers, which is why we’ve fast-tracked getting the Arla Marque on all our own-label milk. Our relationship with Arla and in turn, with our farmers in the Arla dairy cooperative is hugely important to us, so we’re proud to be demonstrating our support.”

The marque offers shoppers the opportunity to easily identify and trust that when they buy own label dairy products they are responsibly sourced from a farmer-owned business where all the profits go back to its owners, and has the highest expectations for animal welfare and environmental standards throughout its supply chain.

ASDA is celebrating the milestone with extensive consumer communications in stores to encourage its shoppers to buy British. Point of sale material features four Arla farmers who supply Asda with milk – they are Andrew Gilman who farms near Tamworth, Robert Pryce-Jones in Powys, Wales, David Hyslop near Lockerbie and Robert Andrews in Saltash, Cornwall. In addition, ASDA online delivery vans have been rebranded to feature Andrew Gilman and the marque.

One of the Arla farmer-owners, Andrew Gilman said: “With ASDA putting the farmer-owned marque on its fresh milk provides the Arla farmers confidence of its continued support. It also helps to show the consumer they are buying milk produced by a farmer-owned cooperative. I’m happy to support the ASDA campaign and I’m already getting messages from friends and family to say they have seen my face on delivery vans and in-store.”

Jonathan Ovens, Arla Foods amba farmer board director added: “We have been pleased by the support and leadership ASDA has demonstrated towards the marque and its commitment to British farmers. We will continue to work with ASDA and other retailers to get the farmer-owned message on a wide range of dairy products. ”

ASDA sources all of its milk from Arla across England, Scotland and Wales. ASDA and Arla have had a ten year relationship which has made a substantial difference to its farmer owners and this is another significant milestone. 

Arla Foods is a global dairy company and co-operative owned by dairy farmers circa 3,000 of whom are British.

Dating back to 1881, Arla’s purpose is to secure the highest value for its farmers’ milk, while creating opportunities for their growth. With production facilities in 11 countries and sales offices in a further 30, Arla is the world’s sixth largest dairy company and largest supplier of organic dairy products. Arla has a total of more than 18,000 colleagues and its products are sold under the well-known brands Arla®, Lurpak® and Castello® in more than 100 countries.

Arla Foods UK is the largest dairy company in the country and is home to leading dairy brands Anchor, Cravendale, and Lactofree. It has a turnover of £2.3 billion. As well as being number one in fresh liquid milk, butter, spreads and cream, Arla is the UK’s largest cheese manufacturer. It has also built the world’s largest fresh milk facility located at Aylesbury and has plans for it to be the first zero carbon site of its kind. The UK business has a team of approximately 3,500 colleagues located at its dairies, distribution centres and head office.