Fonterra Eltham increases cheese production to meet rising demand

Fonterra’s Eltham, New Zealand manufacturing site is expanding its cheese production capacity to address increasing demand ahead of the upcoming season. The site is upgrading production lines for processed cheese and adding a new shift for Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) Mozzarella. These products are used widely in foodservice, including in billions of burgers and pizzas annually.

Kelvin Gray, Eltham site operations manager, says the additional capacity will enable the co-op to allocate more milk to its growing foodservice channel.

“We’re adding about 6000 metric tonnes of IQF Mozzarella to our annual volume with this new shift — that’s enough mozzarella to top over 40 million pizzas. We’re also investing in upgrades for our processed cheese slice lines, so we'll be able to produce cheese for an extra 200 million more burgers each year.”

Eltham specializes in cheese products for Fonterra’s foodservice business, exporting to more than 50 countries. Customers include major restaurant chains such as McDonald’s and Pizza Hut. Demand is particularly strong across Asia, including China, Southeast Asia, and North Asia, driven by population growth, urbanization, and rising consumer preference for convenient meals.

The number of quick-service restaurants in Asia Pacific is projected to reach 5.3 million by 2027 as global chains expand rapidly in the region. Fonterra’s recent US$150 million investment at its Whareroa site to build a new cool store supports growth in its foodservice and ingredients channels. Construction is underway with a three-year completion forecast.

Eltham recently received the Best Specialty Site and Customer Award at Fonterra’s annual Best Site Cup event, recognized for product quality and compliance. The site was also named McDonald’s supplier of the year and won a gold medal at the International Cheese and Dairy Award for a Slice-on-Slice cheese product.

Gray says the awards recognize the team’s efforts and mark a strong season for the site.