17 Sep 2018 --- French dairy group Lactalis is looking to further expand in the infant formula market, with the acquisition of the infant nutrition business of South African company Aspen Pharmacare for €739.8 million (US$860.7 million). Lactalis is a privately owned, global leader in the dairy industry with revenue of €18.4 billion (US$21.4 billion) sales in over 200 countries, approximately 80,000 employees and 246 industrial plants in 47 different countries.
12 Sep 2018 --- Wessanen has acquired Abbot Kinney’s, a fast-growing and innovative leader in plant-based yogurt alternatives and ice-cream. Founded in 2014, Abbot Kinney’s already built a leading position in its category in Health Food Stores in The Netherlands and has started to establish a strong presence in key markets across Europe.
06 Sep 2018 --- The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is developing a series of standards for verifying many of the ingredients of infant formula to show the product is safe for consumption and contains what it says on the label. The latest one, ISO 21422 | IDF 242 for the determination of chloride content, has just been published.
03 Sep 2018 --- Cargill’s global edible vegetable oil business is keeping pace with the fast-paced evolution of the food and infant nutrition market with a US$17.5 million upgrade of its Izegem, Belgium, edible vegetable oil refinery. The company says that ramping up investment to the “world-class” facility will advance food safety and infant nutrition, keeping Cargill ahead of market demands and the European legislation that is driving significant change in the business.
03 Sep 2018 --- Farmer-owned Arla Foods has revealed its plans to build an innovation center in Nr. Vium, Denmark to “unleash the wonders of whey,” by 2021. Part of Arla Foods Ingredients, the new center will be home to leading scientists and innovators who will discover and deliver new ways of using milk and whey to serve the needs of the world’s growing population, according to the company.
31 Aug 2018 --- The North American dairy industry is closely watching how North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) talks are shaping up as today marks the deadline for Canada to sign onto the trade deal that was negotiated earlier this week between the US and Mexico. On Tuesday, the US and Mexico reached a breakthrough in NAFTA negotiations, coming to a bilateral agreement on a revamped trade deal which could pave the way for third-partner Canada to join soon.
30 Aug 2018 --- Dutch dairy giant Royal FrieslandCampina N.V. (FrieslandCampina) has reported a revenue total of €5,721 million over the first half-year of 2018. This is 5.8 percent lower in comparison to the first half-year of 2017, of which 5.0 percent is due to currency effects and the sale of Riedel. Profit decreased by 32.7 percent to €109 million, primarily due to losses on cheese, butter and milk powder basic dairy sales, according to the company.
29 Aug 2018 --- Magnum is set to launch two new vegan versions of its popular ice-cream bars in Sweden and Finland next month. The brand – owned by Unilever – will add Magnum Vegan Classic and Magnum Vegan Almond, which are European Vegetarian Union approved, to its existing product line. The ice cream bars will be made from a pea protein base and covered in smooth dark chocolate. They will be available to purchase in four-piece multipacks and singles from supermarkets in both Sweden and Finland.
27 Aug 2018 --- The number of dairy farmers to receive solar panels through the FrieslandCampina Solar program has more than doubled compared to last year. The Dutch multinational dairy cooperative says that initially 344 additional dairy farms would participate which eventually became 462 bringing the total number of participants in the FrieslandCampina Solar program to 772 dairy farms.
27 Aug 2018 --- Half of the ice creams investigated by UK Consumer Association Which? failed to include fresh vanilla, cream or milk. Vanilla ice cream may be a favorite among UK consumers and sales have soared over the last few weeks as Britain has experienced a heatwave, but a new survey by Which? has revealed some surprising truths about vanilla ice on the shelves of UK supermarkets.
24 Aug 2018 --- The UK dairy sector will receive a multi-million-pound export boost as China agrees to import UK dairy products made with milk from third countries. The £240 million (US$308m) five-year deal was secured in China yesterday (August 23) as International Trade Secretary Dr. Liam Fox MP met with China’s General Administration of Customs to reach the agreement. It comes amid a high period of uncertainty around British exports with the possibility of a no-deal exit from the EU at the end of March 2019 looking increasingly possible.
23 Aug 2018 --- Leaders from America’s dairy industry travel this week to China to promote trade cooperation with official agencies in Beijing and Chinese dairy buyers in Xi'an. In Beijing, a delegation will discuss the flow of Sino/US dairy business amid months of trade tension that has led to tariffs on a long list of US exports, including dairy.
21 Aug 2018 --- Aurivo, the globally focused agribusiness headquartered in the north-west of Ireland, has announced a €48m investment plan for the business for the next five years. The expansion program, which comes as a key component of its Engage 2022 strategic growth plan, incorporates a range of projects across its dairy ingredients, consumer foods and agribusinesses and will grow employment across the Co-Operative between now and the end of 2022. The investment has been supported by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland.
21 Aug 2018 --- Royal FrieslandCampina N.V. has taken over the activities of Best Cheese Holland, including its brands Parrano and Tjiezi. Financial details have not been disclosed. With this step FrieslandCampina Consumer Dairy wants to respond stronger to the consumer need to use more cheese in cooking and the growing demand for dairy snacks as dippers.
20 Aug 2018 --- Progress is being made in producing reduced-sugar ice cream, yogurt, and flavored milk that are more acceptable to consumers, say researchers in the Journal of Dairy Science. Dairy foods are popular among consumers, and sales gross more than US$125 billion per year (IDFA, 2017). With dairy product popularity comes new demands from consumers for healthier, low-calorie products that taste the same as their higher calorie counterparts.
15 Aug 2018 --- Arla Foods Ingredients is set to launch one of the world’s fastest cream cheese manufacturing processes at Food Ingredients South America (São Paulo, Brazil, August 21-23, 2018). The protein solution can cut cream cheese-making process from 20 hours to just 30 minutes, according to the company.
14 Aug 2018 --- Glanbia Nutritionals, Dairy Farmers of America and Select Milk Producers Inc. are set to build a new large-scale cheese and whey production facility in St. Johns, Michigan, US as part of a joint venture. The project is expected to be commissioned in the Q4 of 2020 and will cost approximately US$470 million.
13 Aug 2018 --- Sealpac’s FlatSkin pack combines extended shelf-life and enhanced design appeal with a plastic reduction of up to 75 percent. Danish seafood processor Vega Salmon A/S is one of the early adopters of the FlatSkin packaging system for its hot-smoked salmon products. The products are manufactured on a Sealpac A10 traysealer with 8-impression tooling for cardboard carriers measuring 260 x 130 mm. Each carrier has a double-sided print and hanger hole, which, combined with Sealpac’s unique OnTrayCut system, allow for an attractive vertical presentation at retail.
03 Aug 2018 --- Darigold Inc. reports it is expanding its global customer service and long-term commitment to growth in international markets. The company is creating an overseas sales, service and distribution network to strengthen its valued international relationships. So far, Darigold has opened offices in Mexico City, Singapore and Shanghai, and reportedly expects to expand to more countries soon. Darigold projects it will grow from serving roughly 20 countries today to serve 40 or more countries in the future.
30 Jul 2018 --- Dairy price recovery in 2017 has positively affected the combined turnover of the top 20 companies, which, in 2017, was up 7.2 percent on the year in US dollar terms, according to RaboResearch’s latest Global Dairy Top 20 – A Shuffling of the Deck Chairs report.
