Milk Link, the Bristol-based dairy farmers’ co-operative, is on the acquisitions trail, chief executive Barry Nicholls has revealed.
This will enable it to increase its own product portfolio and that of the joint venture company Staplemead Dairy Products it set up at Frome, Somerset, with Express Dairies just over a year ago.
Nicholls said the five-year plan envisaged boosting the share of the co-op’s 1.4 billion litre a year production processed into added value fresh dairy products at Staplemead from 20% to 80%.
This would involve increasing its range of 16 own label products for Express and five leading retail groups, currently revolving around fresh and soured cream, fresh custard and flavoured milks.
Some industry observers see this as a move by Express to replace its now defunct relationship with M&S supplier Northern Foods. It is backing it with its R&D and sales and marketing expertise.
Tim Smith, executive director at Express, sees the joint venture as both a strategic alliance to help balance milk supply and demand and “a partnership in innovation”. “Staplemead gives us the flexibility to look outside the boundaries of conventional dairy industry thinking.”
Both Smith and Nicholls see this innovation being tackled from the ground up through in-depth research of consumer demand. “We’re working hard to understand and meet the needs of consumers and customers,” said Smith.
Nicholls is equally buoyant, particularly at being able to confound sceptics who said farmers would be unable to run an integrated production and processing business on this scale. “We are now the fourth largest integrated dairy business in Britain,” he said.
Neither part expect the relationship to be changed as a result of the planned merger of Express and Arla.
This will enable it to increase its own product portfolio and that of the joint venture company Staplemead Dairy Products it set up at Frome, Somerset, with Express Dairies just over a year ago.
Nicholls said the five-year plan envisaged boosting the share of the co-op’s 1.4 billion litre a year production processed into added value fresh dairy products at Staplemead from 20% to 80%.
This would involve increasing its range of 16 own label products for Express and five leading retail groups, currently revolving around fresh and soured cream, fresh custard and flavoured milks.
Some industry observers see this as a move by Express to replace its now defunct relationship with M&S supplier Northern Foods. It is backing it with its R&D and sales and marketing expertise.
Tim Smith, executive director at Express, sees the joint venture as both a strategic alliance to help balance milk supply and demand and “a partnership in innovation”. “Staplemead gives us the flexibility to look outside the boundaries of conventional dairy industry thinking.”
Both Smith and Nicholls see this innovation being tackled from the ground up through in-depth research of consumer demand. “We’re working hard to understand and meet the needs of consumers and customers,” said Smith.
Nicholls is equally buoyant, particularly at being able to confound sceptics who said farmers would be unable to run an integrated production and processing business on this scale. “We are now the fourth largest integrated dairy business in Britain,” he said.
Neither part expect the relationship to be changed as a result of the planned merger of Express and Arla.
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