“Unfortunately, there is not one big hit that improves the value creation structure of a dairy. Rather, it is the ability to recognise and exploit the potential in many projects and customer relationships,” says managing director Michael Waidacher from Austria’s Gmundner Milch.

The dairy has been able to realise projects such as Hofer’s FairHof, an organic line for Asana in Spain, and achieve market gains in naturally matured cheese specialties.

Co-operation with Bavaria’s Milchwerk Jäger and further development of the Gmundner Milch range in the design of the Gmundner Keramik also have made a valuable contribution to increasing added value, according to the dairy.

“Especially in times of climate crisis and drastic global developments such as the behaviour of the US or Brexit, we should ourselves as a society again think more about the ‘value concept’,” Waidacher says.

“The production of food not only generates an entrepreneurial value. Landscaping, the preservation of rural living space, jobs or even the diversity of natural foodstuffs reflect important added value. This should also receive the necessary appreciation in the form of fair prices and thus in value creation opportunities for our farms.”

Gmundner employs 350 people, generates €199 million in sales and processes 337 million kilograms of milk (2018). The export share is 51%. Every year 30 million packs of fresh milk, 11,000 tons of cheese, 13 million packets of butter, 170 million coffee cream portions, 150 million packs of UHT milk and 25 million cups of cream, yogurt or sour cream are produced.