Arla adds flavoured milk and custard to its Stourton dairy portfolio
Arla’s flagship dairy at Stourton, Leeds, has added two more product ranges to its added value portfolio, following the commercial start up of custard and flavoured milk at its £70 million state of the art facility.
As planned, production of the two product ranges has been transferred to Stourton in phases since December.
Arla has a 50 per cent share of the own label custard market and with production now in-house it has aspirations for growing its customer base having developed new recipes for standard, premium, low fat and chocolate custards. The company is also currently researching consumer preferences in terms of the perfect pack sizes and flavours for different occasions.
As Lorraine Wheaton, Arla’s director of retailer brand, milk and cream and applications, explains: “We are looking to reposition the range to become more attractive for both hot and cold desserts and to encourage consumers to switch from ambient to fresh custard.
“We are working on new flavours to extend consumer choice, both through the development of seasonal ranges and introducing year round listings. We are also investigating the possibility of increasing custard’s appeal by launching on-pack accompaniments through the incorporation of ‘top hat’ lids,” she added.
With flavoured milk production also now in house, Arla’s vision is to make it ‘the drink of choice' and its key objective is to establish itself in this category and drive penetration of the category.
“The addition of these new product ranges is directly in line with our strategy of extending our added value dairy portfolio and maximising its growth. Having launched cottage cheese last year and now being able to offer retailers custard and flavoured milk from the UK’s most modern processing facility, we are further strengthening our position as the dairy supplier able to offer a complete dairy solution,” said Lorraine.
Arla Foods UK plc is home to some of the UK’s leading dairy brands including Cravendale, Lurpak and Anchor. Processing approximately two billion litres of milk a year Arla continues to be one of the UK’s leading dairy companies and a supplier of fresh liquid milk and cream to the top seven retailers.
Over 2,500 daily deliveries are made directly to stores nationwide and Arla brands can be found across the dairy category. As well as the leader of the butter, spreads and margarine sector, and a major supplier of other added value products including flavoured milk and cheese, Arla continues to build working relationships with Arla Foods Milk Partnership, a unique group of dairy farmers, which supplies around 90 per cent of Arla's total milk requirements.
Behind this leading business is a team of circa 2,800 people across the UK located at our dairies, distribution centres and head office.