Scandinavian dairy giant Arla is expanding its dairy in Hollandtown, Wisconsin, US to match consumers’ interest in “premium” class quality cheese there. The expansion will be completed in early summer 2011. Last year, Arla’s sales in the US rose by 10 per cent. Seventy per cent of Arla’s products for the US are produced at Arla’s two US dairies in Muskegon, Michigan and Hollandtown, Wisconsin, with the remaining 30 per cent imported from Arla’s dairies in Denmark.
Arla sells around 16,000 tonnes in the US per year. In supermarkets, Arla products are located in the delicatessen departments. Cheeses such as havarti, Gouda and blue cheese are regarded as niche categories, and so this is an area with significant potential for boosting sales, the company says.