Arla Foods

Dairy Productsarla.nl

Company typePrivate
Founded2009
HeadquartersUtrecht, Netherlands
Headcount101–250
GTM typeB2B and B2C
OfferingHardware or Manufacturing

Arla Foods firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Arla Foods
Legal name: Arla Foods amba
Website: https://arla.nl
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2009
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 101–250 employees
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Arla Foods industry classification

Industry

Product category: Dairy Products
NAICS: Dairy Product (except Frozen) Manufacturing (31151), Dairy Product Manufacturing (3115), Cheese Manufacturing (311513), Fluid Milk Manufacturing (311511)
SIC: Dairy Products (2020), Food And Kindred Products (2000)
akta.pro primary industry: Flavored Milk & Dairy Drinkables (Chocolate, Strawberry, RTD) (AFAFAEAB)

Keywords

Dairy products
Organic dairy
Lactose-free dairy
Dairy ingredients
Dairy cooperative

Where Arla Foods is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Utrecht
HQ country: Netherlands
HQ region: Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

Arla Foods business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B and B2C
Offering type: Hardware or Manufacturing
Cost components: Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

Consumer Dairy Products: Sale of branded consumer dairy products including milk, yogurt, cheese, and butter through retail channels. Revenue from Arla®, Lurpak®, Castello® and other consumer brands sold in supermarkets.
B2B Ingredients & Industrial Sales: Supply of dairy ingredients to food manufacturers and industrial customers. Advanced whey proteins and dairy ingredients for food production.
Professional/Private Label: Production under licensed brands including Starbucks® chilled coffee and branded foodservice products.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Unit Pricing	Pay-as-you-go	Consumer packaged dairy products

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Arla Foods product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Arla Foods is a farmer-owned dairy cooperative that produces, processes, and markets a broad range of dairy products including fresh milk, yoghurt, cheese, butter, and advanced whey protein ingredients. The company sells through iconic consumer brands (Arla, Lurpak, Castello, Skyr, LactoFREE, Apetina, Cultura) across European retail, while also supplying dairy ingredients and foodservice products to industrial customers.

Product overview

Arla Foods is a dairy cooperative offering a diverse portfolio of dairy products under multiple brands. The core offerings include fresh milk, yoghurt, and skyr, supported by sub-brands such as Arla Bio (organic products), Arla LactoFREE (lactose-free range), Arla Skyr (high-protein Icelandic-style yoghurt), Arla Cultura (kefir), and Arla Apetina (white cheese). International brands within the portfolio include Lurpak (butter), Castello (specialty cheese), and Melkunie (Dutch dairy). The company also serves professional markets through Arla Pro. Following the June 2026 merger with DMK Group, the combined entity unites approximately 11,200 farmers and 28,800 employees under the Arla name.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

Arla Bio: Organic dairy product line including organic milk, yoghurt, and dairy products.
Arla LactoFREE
Arla Skyr
Arla Cultura
Arla Apetina
Lurpak
Castello
Melkunie
MILRAM
Humana
Oldenburger
Uniekaas
Puck
Starbucks (chilled coffee)
Arla Pro

Products and services

Arla Bio (Biologisch) Organic dairy product line including organic milk, yoghurt, skyr, and kefir sourced from organic farms that do not use chemical pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. Targeted at consumers seeking certified organic dairy.
Arla LactoFREE Lactose-free dairy products including yoghurt, milk drinks, crème fraîche, and quark for consumers with lactose intolerance.
Arla Skyr High-protein Icelandic-style yoghurt available in flavors including naturel, vanilla, strawberry, peach passion fruit, coconut, and forest fruits, in 450g and 1kg sizes. Targeted at consumers seeking high-protein functional dairy.
Arla Cultura Kefir dairy drink offering a tangy, refreshing taste.
Arla Apetina White cheese products including cheese cubes in oil, cheese blocks, and reduced-fat variants, used in salads and cooking.
Arla Melk (Fresh Milk) Fresh milk products available in various fat content levels including whole milk, semi-skimmed milk, and lactose-free variants.
Arla Yoghurt Yoghurt products including Greek-style yoghurt, drinking yoghurt, and various flavored varieties.
Lurpak Premium butter and butter spreads brand known internationally for its quality butter products.
Castello Cheese brand offering various specialty cheeses.
Melkunie Dutch dairy brand within the Arla portfolio.
Arla Pro Professional dairy products and brand line for foodservice and professional cooking applications (restaurants, hotels, cafés).
Starbucks Chilled Coffee (Licensed) Licensed chilled coffee product line produced and distributed under the Starbucks brand.
Advanced Whey Protein Ingredients World-leading advanced whey protein ingredients supplied to food manufacturers and industrial customers for use in food production.

Quantifiable outcome

Swedish cheese self-sufficiency increased from 37% to 47%
+2 more outcomes

Companies that use Arla Foods

Customer profile

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Arla Foods technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Arla Foods partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

DMK GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Official merger between Arla Foods and DMK Group forming Europe's leading dairy cooperative. The combined entity includes DMK eG and DOC Kaas U.A. cooperatives. Combined revenue exceeds €20 billion with 19.4 billion kg annual milk pool. Jan Toft Nørgaard serves as Chairman, Peder Tuborgh as CEO, and Ingo Müller as CINTO leading integration.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Arla Foods competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

FrieslandCampina: Dutch dairy cooperative and one of the world's largest dairy processors, with a comparable farmer-owned structure, broad branded and B2B ingredients portfolio, and similar European geographic footprint to Arla.
Lactalis: France-based privately held dairy group, the world's largest dairy company by revenue, with overlapping cheese, butter, and ingredient portfolios and a comparable multi-brand, multi-region strategy to Arla.
Müller: Germany/UK-headquartered dairy processor with strong positions in yogurt, milk drinks, and desserts; competes directly with Arla in the UK retail channel alongside Tesco and other major grocers.
Saputo: Canadian-headquartered global dairy processor with significant European cheese operations; comparable business mix of branded consumer dairy and B2B ingredients across multiple continents.
Savencia Fromage & Dairy: France-based specialty cheese and dairy group with strong branded and B2B cheese positions across Europe; directly comparable to Arla's Castello, Apetina, and Uniekaas cheese portfolio.
Bel Group: French branded cheese and healthy snack company (Laughing Cow, Babybel, Kiri); a comparable branded cheese player with overlapping European retail customers and similar focus on portioned and value-added cheese.
Schreiber Foods: Privately held US-based dairy leader in cheese, yogurt, and B2B ingredient supply with growing global presence; comparable private-cooperative-style ownership and similar B2B/private-label emphasis.

Broad incumbents

Danone: Global dairy and plant-based food major with significant European dairy, yogurt, and specialty nutrition businesses; competes with Arla across yogurt, lactose-free, and infant/nutrition categories at a broader portfolio scale.
Nestlé: Swiss global food and beverage conglomerate with a large dairy, nutrition, and ingredients division; overlaps with Arla in dairy ingredients, milk-based beverages, and nutrition products, but at a much broader portfolio scale.

Emerging players

Yili Group: China's largest dairy processor and a global top-five player, expanding into Europe and whey-based nutrition ingredients; an emerging global dairy peer relevant to Arla's whey protein and ingredient ambitions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Arla Foods financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Arla Foods leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Arla Foods subsidiaries and ownership

Company hierarchy

Subsidiaries3 records

Arla Foods funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Arla Foods M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arla Foods

What does Arla Foods do?

Is Arla Foods a public or private company?

Arla Foods is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.

When was Arla Foods founded?

Arla Foods was founded in 2009. It employs 101 to 250 people.

Where is Arla Foods based?

Arla Foods is headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands, in the Europe region.

How does Arla Foods make money?

Three revenue lines are on record. Consumer Dairy Products are the primary driver. The others are B2B Ingredients & Industrial Sales and professional/Private Label.

Who are Arla Foods's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are FrieslandCampina, Lactalis, Müller, Saputo, Savencia Fromage & Dairy, Bel Group and Schreiber Foods. Broad incumbents are Danone and Nestlé. Yili Group is listed as an emerging player.

Does Arla Foods have an API?

No public API is recorded for Arla Foods.

What industry is Arla Foods in?

Arla Foods's product category is Dairy Products. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAFAEAB, Flavored Milk & Dairy Drinkables (Chocolate, Strawberry, RTD). Its NAICS code is 31151 and its SIC code is 2020.