Arla Foods and Foremost Farms in talks to form partnership

European company Arla Foods and Foremost Farms USA are holding talks regarding a strategic dairy partnership.

Under the potential partnership, the two firms intend to explore ways to increase the value of whey through innovation.

Recently, Arla Foods and Foremost Farms signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) as part of formalising the possibility of a future partnership.

Arla Foods Ingredients (AFI) Group vice-president Henrik Andersen said: “As farmer-owned cooperatives, Arla Foods and Foremost Farms USA share many of the same values and both parties see a high degree of compatibility on visions and ambitions within whey.

“We are confident that Foremost Farms can be the right partner for us in our efforts to secure access to high-quality whey in the US market.”

Under the partnership, Foremost Farms’ high-quality whey will be combined with Arla Foods’ extensive ingredient expertise and strong sales channels.

Foremost Farms president and CEO Michael Doyle said: “We are excited about working with Arla Foods to create an international strategic partnership.

“By working with Arla, we can leverage their global food supply connections and innovation expertise with Foremost Farms’ diverse plant network and access to high-quality member milk.

“These factors combined will enable both companies to meet business objectives and provide whey solutions of the highest quality to the world.”

Further details on the partnership plans have not been disclosed by the two companies.

Arla Foods is an international dairy company owned by 11,200 farmers from Denmark, Sweden, the UK, Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg, and the Netherlands.

The company also manufactures organic dairy products.