The UK's largest dairy company, Arla Foods UK is today announcing a major new initiative to support its farmer owners as it unveils a new farmer-owned marque that will appear on its Arla branded products from the autumn.
Supported by a new marketing campaign, the product marque will offer consumers the opportunity to easily identify and trust that when they buy Arla branded 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.
The launch of the marque comes at a time of unprecedented pressure on the milk price as a result of global market volatility, and Arla continues its efforts to maximise the returns that it can provide to its farmer owners for the milk that they provide. Arla will also be working independently with its major retail customers to increase the visibility of their continued support of its cooperative’s principles.
Ash Amirahmadi, head of milk and member services, said, “Our farmer-owned marque is the natural step following on from our Support Our Farmers campaign and the launch of the Arla brand earlier this year. While we cannot reverse the global factors it will play an important role in minimising the impact of this downturn and ensure that our business is in a strong position for when markets start to recover.”
In parallel to the launch of the farmer-owned marque, Arla has initiated a countrywide series of meetings where all of its 3,000 British farmer owners have been invited to attend to express their concerns and ideas regarding the promotion of the benefits of purchasing dairy products produced by a farmer-owned cooperative.
Arla Foods amba farmer board director Jonathan Ovens, added, “I have been travelling across the country listening to our owners and I am hearing loud and clear that our farmer owners support the launch of this marque.
'Our cooperative principle of standing shoulder to shoulder means that we fundamentally believe that any benefits that are derived from our business are shared equally amongst every single one of our farmer owners, for the benefit of all.”
Arla Foods is a global dairy company and co-operative owned by 13,500 dairy farmers circa 3,000 of whom are British. It is home to leading dairy brands Anchor, Cravendale, and Lactofree, and has a turnover of £2.3bn.