EUROPE – This June, Arla Foods directors will be considering a new “stand-alone” strategy planned for Europe’s largest dairy following the breakdown of merger talks with Campina.

The so-called Strategy 2007 will include closer ties to the bigger supermarket chains, particularly in the UK. In Britain, Arla’s new Stourton dairy is to be the centre of the campaign to bring more home-produced dairy produce into the shops while increased imports of Arla’s Danish and Swedish made dairy products will also be sold on the back of the coop’s fresh milk sales to the UK supermarkets.

Just like its formerly proposed partner Campina, Arla has followed a policy of “horses for courses” with concentration on promoting the most profitable items in each market region. This is to be intensified with, for instance, even more investment in cheese sales in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Greece.

‘Strategy 2007’ will also include a change of marketing direction for milk powder, according to first news from Arla. Previously, sales in this sector were based mainly on bulk deliveries to wholesalers and further processors but from now on, led by new plant in Sweden (Vimmerby) and planned projects in China, the aim is to process and pack for the retail market and deliver straight to the consumer via retailers.