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Arla Foods Ltd. is a major dairy products company in the United Kingdom, based in Leeds, and a subsidiary of Arla Foods, which is owned by its farmer owners in seven countries including the UK.
 | |
| Arla UK | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Founded | 2003[1] |
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
Area served | United Kingdom |
| Products | Dairy products – Lurpak, Cravendale, Lactofree |
| Revenue |  £2,620 million (2018)[2] |
Number of employees | 3,460[2] |
| Parent | Arla Foods |
| Website | www |
History
editThe company was created by the merger in 1980 of the British dairy group Express Dairies and the British subsidiary of Arla Foods, a Swedish-Danish dairy production co operative, jointly owned by Swedish and Danish farmers. The parent company, Arla Foods Amba, initially held a 51% stake, but acquired the rest of the company's shares in April 2007.[3]
In Britain, Arla supplies milk to retailers and produces many household brands, such as Lurpak, Anchor Butter, Cravendale, Lactofree and Castello.
According to the BBC, in August 2015, farmers were paid less per pint of milk by Arla than by supermarkets that buy directly.[4][5]
In August 2021, people acting on behalf of Animal Rebellion blockaded Arla's dairy facility in Aylesbury citing the large climate and ecological burden of dairy production when compared to plant based alternatives.[6] The same site was again blockaded in September 2022.[7]
In November 2024, Arla, and Müller became subject to a boycott by some consumers, after they announced that they would add Bovaer (3-Nitrooxypropanol) to the cattle feed of some of their cows as a trial to reduce methane emissions. The boycott, according to Arla, and The Grocer, is down to misinformation over the safety of Bovaer and it's claimed links to Bill Gates, which has been misattributed to different company in the same industry which Bill Gates has invested into.[8] In response to the announcement, the Soil Association said that 3-Nitrooxypropanol would not be classed as an organic ingredient.[9]
Products
editArla is the largest supplier of fresh milk and cream in the United Kingdom, producing over 2.2 billion litres of milk per year. It produces two premium milk brands: Cravendale filtered milk, which undergoes a filtration process to remove bacteria before pasteurization; and Lactofree milk, from which lactose is removed, making it suitable for most lactose intolerant people. Following the success of Lactofree milk, Arla introduced a range of lactose-free products, including cheese and yoghurt.
As well as fresh milk, Arla produces the Anchor butter brand in the United Kingdom and Lurpak is produced by its Danish farmers. This was not widely publicised by the company, even though the brands had been established over decades as brands for butter imported from Denmark and New Zealand respectively. Other products include fromage frais, yoghurts and the blue cheeses Rosenborg and Danish Blue. The firm also produces fruit juice.
Locations
editThe company has processing plants in England at Palmers Green (London), Stourton (Leeds), Settle (North Yorkshire) and Malpas (Cheshire), and in Scotland at Lockerbie. In January 2009, Arla ceased production at their dairy in Manchester.[10] The company also operates the world's largest milk processing plant in Aylesbury, which was opened on 24 May 2014.[11]
Arla Foods obtained the Westbury Dairies plant in January 2016,[12] in Westbury, Wiltshire, which has become a site for the production of Anchor butter.[13]
Arla Foods briefly operated the Milk Link dairy in Crediton, Devon following the merger with Milk Link in 2012. However was sold in a management buyout in April 2013 with the Crediton operations being renamed as Crediton Dairy Limited.
References
edit- ^ "Companies house report". Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Companies house report". Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- ^ "Arla Foods amba acquires full ownership of UK subsidiary" (Press release). Arla Foods UK. 5 April 2007. Archived from the original on 16 July 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
- ^ Gregory-Kumar, David (18 August 2015). "Where should you buy a pint of milk?". BBC News. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ "Do farmers really make a loss on milk?". BBC News. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ "Animal Rebellion protesters blockade Arla dairy". The Independent. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- ^ "Animal Rebellion activists stop milk supply in parts of England". The Guardian. 4 September 2022.
- ^ White, Kevin (28 November 2024). "Arla says boycott calls over methane-cutting feed additive based on 'misinformation'". The Grocer. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
- ^ https://x.com/SoilAssociation/status/1862448002494873730 Soil Association's official Twitter Account dated 29 November 2024 "This has led us to receive a large number of questions about whether this feed additive would be permitted in organic. It would not. Soil Association organic standards stipulate that all ingredients/components of a feed additive must be actively approved for use and be deemed safe and nutritionally useful for the animal. The main components that make up Bovaer are not included in the list of approved products/compounds and as a result, Bovaer would not be permitted under organic standards and for use in organic farming. Arla buys milk from many different farms and they supply both organic and non-organic milk. Any organic milk they supply must meet organic regulation requirements and the production has to be completely separate from any non-organic milk. This must be demonstrated and independently audited every year."
- ^ "Dairy closure will cost up to 300 jobs". Manchester Evening News. 18 April 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
- ^ "Arla officially opens worlds largest liquid milk plant". 28 May 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ "Arla and First Milk confirm future of Westbury Dairies". www.arlafoods.co.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
- ^ "Arla Foods launches new Anchor Spreadable campaign". www.arlafoods.co.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2024.