The rise of organic in dairy

At the 2018 event, 3,218 exhibitors from around the world welcomed more than 50,000 trade visitors from 134 countries.

Exhibitors include large and small organic companies, as well as vegan products, and more than 100 new products are exhibited at the event.

Some of those exhibiting expressed their opinion that while organic continues to grow, it will eventually become a new baseline – that consumers will expect all of their products to be organic, clean label and contain less ingredients.

DairyReporter spoke with three companies about their experiences of the rise in organic products in the industry.

Lye Cross Farm​ have been producing cheese in the west of the UK since 1952, and now export their products to more than 40 countries globally. The company sells cheese to supermarkets, shops and delicatessens, and also packages cheese for own-brand labels.

The US cooperative Organic Valley​, as the name suggests, has been selling organic dairy products since 1988. Based in Lafarge, Wisconsin, the company produces milk, yogurt, protein shakes, butter, cheese and a variety of other products, including those outside of the dairy industry, such as eggs and produce.

French cooperative Biolait​ doesn’t make products, but purchases milk and distributes it to manufacturers of dairy products. Created in 1994, it is the largest French collector of organic cow's milk, with 2,000 farmers, 180m liters of milk collected (2016) from 71 French departments, and its milk being turned into more than 250 products by producers.

The next Biofach show takes place February 13-16, 2019.