Top industry award for Arla

Arla Foods has been voted The Grocer magazines branded supplier of the year for Dairy and Yellow Fats.

Supermarket buyers voted for companies who have proved their worth by providing outstanding brands and growing sales as well as constantly demonstrating true commitment as business partners willing to tailor their services to the wants and needs of each and every one of their business customers.

Arla, along with other winning businesses, has the ability to be more flexible and proactive and, as a result are more capable of embracing new market trends and developing innovation in packaging and the supply chain.

The company has been given the award following the success of its top three brands Lurpak, Anchor and Cravendale.

The introduction of Lurpak Lighter Spreadable has been the main driver of growth this year for the Lurpak brand and is now worth £48 million growing by over 16 per cent year on year.

Anchor is the UK's top-selling block butter brand by both volume and value, generating sales of over £32 million last year.

Cravendale this year became one of the UK's top 100 grocery brands, growing by 19 per cent to reach a total value of £75 million.

Simon Stevens, Arla's Managing Director for Commercial, said: "This is great new for the company because the awards are the most important in the industry as they are voted for by Arla's customers."

Winners of each of the grocery categories will now go forward to the final of The Grocer Awards held on 13 June 2007.

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.