Arla announces new three-year milk and cream contract with ASDA
Arla Foods, the farmer-owned dairy company, has today confirmed that it has entered a new three-year contract with ASDA for the supply of its own brand milk and cream. The new agreement allows ASDA to source over 1.5 billion litres of British milk from the dairy cooperative.
Last year, ASDA was the first major grocery retailer to carry Arla’s responsibly sourced farmer-owned marque¹ on pack, online and in-store. Today’s announcement ensures that this commitment continues until 2019 and provides Arla farmer owners with a sustainable home for their milk.
Peter Giørtz-Carlsen, Executive Vice President, Arla Foods UK, commented:
“This is welcome news and we value ASDA’s continued support for our dairy farmers. This demonstrates that we need to develop our industry by partnering with our retail customers and adding value. We look forward to working further with ASDA and supporting their commitment to our owners.”
Martin Evans, Chairman, ASDA Dairylink and Arla farmer, added:
“The continual support that ASDA has shown to Arla farmers across the country and its commitment to dairy should be commended. Life on farm is extremely tough at the moment and this news is exactly what our farmers need.”
In addition to this new contract, Arla can confirm that ASDA is increasing its support by extending the ASDA DairyLink groups, where it has been working directly with Arla farmer owners to improve animal welfare, reducing carbon footprint and increasing efficiency on farm.
¹ The marque allows shoppers to easily identify and trust that when they buy own label 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.
Arla Foods is a global dairy company and co-operative owned by 12,700 dairy farmers with 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 fifth 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.