Green light for FrieslandCampina and Milcobel merger

The FrieslandCampina Members’ Council and the Extraordinary General Meeting of Milcobel have approved the proposed merger of the two cooperatives. Both bodies voted in favour by a large majority, meaning the merger will take effect on 1 January 2026.

Sybren Attema, chair of the Board of Zuivelcoöperatie FrieslandCampina UA, said: “We are pleased that our Members’ Council and Milcobel’s Extraordinary General Meeting have approved the merger. This is a logical step. We are joining forces, increasing our scale and strengthening our market positions. Together we are stronger.”

Betty Eeckhaut, chair of the Board of Milcobel, added: “This merger stems from our shared ambition to offer our member dairy farmers and their successors a future with stability and good income. By joining forces, we increase our impact.”

From 1 January 2026, Milcobel’s member dairy farmers will become full cooperative members of FrieslandCampina, with the same rights, obligations and milk price system as existing members. This ensures equal treatment and participation for all members within the new cooperative.

​The integration will be led by the cooperative’s board and the company’s executive team.

Sybren Attema will remain chair of the Board of Zuivelcoöperatie FrieslandCampina UA and of the Supervisory Board of Royal FrieslandCampina NV. Betty Eeckhaut will join the cooperative’s board and take a seat on FrieslandCampina’s Supervisory Board.

Jan Derck van Karnebeek will remain CEO of Royal FrieslandCampina NV. Peter Grugeon, former CEO of Milcobel, will become president of the Professional business group as of 1 April, joining FrieslandCampina’s executive team. He succeeds Roger Loo, who will take over as president of specialised nutrition from Harvey Uong, who will leave the company as of 1 April 2026.

​The merger will create two new districts within FrieslandCampina:

• Milcobel-West (District 15): Northeast Flanders, Bruges Area, Westhoek, Southwest Flanders and Southeast Flanders;
• Milcobel-East (District 16): Kempenland, Northwest Antwerp, Limburg & Brabant and Cercle Francophone.

The new district councils will be led by Bram Maes (West) and Vanessa Tindemans-Van Eynde (East). Maes runs a dairy farm in Aalter, Flanders, and Tindemans-Van Eynde in Pessoux, Wallonia. Each district council will have eight to ten elected dairy farmers and will serve as the contact point for the district. Together, they form the Members’ Council, with voting weight per district depending on the volume of milk supplied.

Milcobel’s business units will be integrated into FrieslandCampina’s business groups. The merger creates an internationally operating dairy company with a broad product portfolio and a strong position in Europe and beyond. The company’s headquarters will remain in Amersfoort.