Breaking News on Dairy Processing & Markets

Milk Link: biggest creamery investment for 20 years

29-Sep-2011 - Dairy cooperative Milk Link is to invest £20M at its Lockerbie Creamery in the UK’s largest investment in cheese-making for 20 years.

Polish dairy sale will not stop our growth in ‘strategic market’, Arla insists

29-Sep-2011 - Danish-Swedish dairy company Arla says that the sale of its Mozzarella cheese plant in Goscino, Poland will not deter it from pursuing a sought-after strategic partnership and acquisitions in the country.

Four-year plan sees Granarolo target acquisitions and €1.6bn turnover

27-Sep-2011 - Italian dairy company Granarolo says it is pursuing a €1.6bn turnover as part of a four-year growth plan that will see the firm pursue more acquisitions both at home and internationally.

Controversial Arla super dairy gets green light

26-Sep-2011 - Arla has secured planning approval for its new £150m UK ‘mega dairy’, despite widespread local opposition to its plans.

Cargill flavours buy not transformational but good fit for Kerry, analyst

26-Sep-2011 - Kerry’s acquisition of Cargill’s flavour systems for €168m ($230m) is by no means transformational but will boost the Irish ingredient firm’s beverages and dairy flavours portfolio, claims an analyst.

'Record' results see Fonterra secure ingredients for overseas success

22-Sep-2011 - Improved performance within Fonterra’s ingredients businesses worldwide has seen the firm announce a record turnover of NZ $19.9bn (€11.6bn) in 2010/11.

Lat Bri purchase sees Granarolo top €1bn turnover

21-Sep-2011 - Granarolo has ramped-up its presence within the EU dairy sector by acquiring Italian cheese producer Lat Bri, in a move that will take its turnover above €1bn.

News in brief

Uniq writes-off £20m in yogurt and dessert sales

16-Sep-2011 - UK chilled and convenience foods firm Uniq said today that it would lose £20m, following the closure of its 'everyday' desserts business at Minsterley by June 2012.

News in brief

Dragon's Den's star Deborah Meaden slams mega dairy 'treadmill'

14-Sep-2011 - Dragons' Den entrepreneur Deborah Meaden has hit out at mega dairies in a new report, where she and her co-contributors said they tied US dairy farmers to a "treadmill of seeking ever-greater yields and economies of scale".

Arla close to sealing deal for Allgäuland

13-Sep-2011 - Arla Foods announced today that it was a "step closer" to acquiring German dairy firm Allgäuland-Käserien, after the last of the latter's constituent co-operatives voted in favour of joining the dairy giant.

News in brief

Senior management changes at Arla

09-Sep-2011 - Arla will reoganise its senior management team from October, in a move that it says will shorten decision-making timeframes and devliver the DKK 75bn turnover growth demanded by its strategy to 2015.

R&R Ice Cream acquires Pilpa as French sales soar

06-Sep-2011 - R&R Ice Cream has acquired Europe’s largest private-label ice cream manufacturer Pilpa in a deal worth around €17.65m, plus stock on completion estimated at €9m.

Arla confident despite Allgäuland takeover setback

05-Sep-2011 - Arla Foods remains confident that its ‘take it or leave it’ takeover bid for Southern German dairy co-op Allgäuland-Käsereien will succeed, despite its initial rejection.

Dairy prices to soften, says Glanbia

24-Aug-2011 - A modest weakening in dairy prices is expected, forecast Glanbia, as the company posted a profit jump in its half year results.

Kerry delivers “solid” H1 with 6% profit hike to €214m

17-Aug-2011 - Irish dairy and ingredients group Kerry has turned in a”solid” first half of 2011 that saw it increase volumes, weather raw material price hikes, and see success in a “go-to-market” functional ingredient strategy as profits jumped 6.1% on 2010 figures.

Major UK dairy processors and supermarkets hit by £50m price fixing fine

10-Aug-2011 - Major dairy processors and supermarkets in the UK have been fined almost £50m for retail price-fixing that took place almost ten years ago, according to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

Unilever: “Strength of brands” combats price hikes as H1 profits rise

04-Aug-2011 - Food giant Unilever saw net profits grow 10% to €2.235bn in the first half of 2011, with its brand equity allowing it to weather severe raw materials price hikes in some cases.

Givaudan profits slump despite flavours growth

04-Aug-2011 - Flavour and fragrance firm Givaudan’s first half net profits crashed by 40 per cent as raw material costs and record currency rates take their toll on the Swiss company, despite good local growth in its flavours businesses.

FMC tipped to make hydrocolloid acquisition

04-Aug-2011 - FMC Corporation is looking to expand its food ingredients portfolio as it strengthens its already strong position in the hydrocolloids market.

Analysts predict 6-7% sucralose growth for Tate & Lyle

29-Jul-2011 - UK analysts are forecasting 6-7% growth in sucralose for Tate & Lyle Splenda version of the sweetener which leads the segment globally.

Dairy volumes down for Danone

29-Jul-2011 - Danone saw a decline in sales volumes for its key dairy segments as it hiked prices up in response to soaring commodity costs.

Retail price wars contribute to milk pricing gap, DairyCo

27-Jul-2011 - Retail price wars in supermarkets contributed to the liquid milk pricing gap between commodity prices and farmgate prices in 2010/11, according to DairyCo.

News in brief

Coles in the clear in milk price wars

27-Jul-2011 - The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced that it does not believe that supermarket operator Coles broke any competition rules when it dropped the price of it’s house brand milk to AU$1 a litre

Sale hopes dashed for historic Stilton producer

26-Jul-2011 - The administrator of Quenby Hall Dairy has admitted defeat in its efforts to sell the business, which produced Stilton on a site where some of first examples of the cheese were made over 250 years ago.