Arla To Promote Its Farmer Owners With New Marque

14 Aug 2015

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A new marque on Arla® products will make it easier for European consumers to identify that the products are from a dairy company owned by farmers, who are committed to delivering natural and nutritious milk.

Arla is kicking off a new long-term initiative this month to make it clear to its consumers that the company is owned by farmers. Part of the initiative is a new product marque, which will begin to feature on the packaging of several Arla® products already from September, spreading to most of Arla’s portfolio in the following weeks and months as packaging is naturally replaced.

“We want to make it clear that Arla is the farmers’ company. The farmer ownership means that all of Arla’s earnings go back to its farmer owners and that the owners take an active part in creating value for our consumers. They deliver the natural taste, the high quality and the animal welfare. This is what you get and support when you buy an Arla® product,” says Peder Tuborgh, CEO in Arla.

Consumers are increasingly interested in the origin of the products they put into their shopping carts – how it’s produced, how the cows and environment are treated and who they support when buying the product. Based on this, more and more people are actively taking a stand when they select their dairy brand.

“Arla is the farmers. It’s we, the farmer owners, who every day work to ensure that your Arla product is made with care in every step. However, many consumers don’t know this about Arla. We want to make this clear, because we are proud of our cooperative and the milk we provide,” says Åke Hantoft, chairman of Arla and one of the company’s 12.747 farmer owners.

Currently, the financial situation is tough for dairy farmers across Europe due to very low milk prices in the global market. “It’s important for us to create awareness that when you buy an Arla product you support dairy farmers, not a group of shareholders with little or no association to dairy farming. Our main focus is to maintain a long-term sustainable milk supply, which is high quality and includes animal welfare,” says Åke Hantoft.

Arla farmers own their company and receive all the earnings from the business. That gives them a natural motivation to take care and invest in every step of the milk supply chain. Arla knows every farmer owner and work together with them to provide nutritious food products what people can trust. The on-pack marque will be followed with activities on social media, websites, events etc. that Arla is initiating to strengthen the “farmer owned” message.

Arla is owned by 12,747 farmer owners in the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

Source: Arla Foods