SCANDINAVIA – Arla Foods has teamed up with a premium salt producer in a bid to revitalise its Lurpak butter brand, which has recently been losing market share.

Laeso Saltsyderi, the maker of Denmark’s most expensive salt, will now supply five tonnes of salt a year to Arla, following 18 months’ products development. The salt will be used to launch a new Lurpak variety, labelled as containing Laeso salt.

It is hoped the new alliance will help give the Lurpak brand a greater premium image by using salt that is produced using an open fire method that dates back to the Middle Ages.

“Lurpak butter is losing market share and is under increasing pressure from competitors,” said product manager Laurent Ponty of Arla Foods. He added that he expects the new product to gain 3 to 4% of the Danish butter market in the long-term.