Arla Foods

Arla Foods is a Swedo-Danish cooperative based in Århus, Denmark, and the largest producer of dairy products in Scandinavia. Arla Foods was formed as the result of a merger between the Swedish dairy cooperative Arla and the Danish dairy company MD Foods on 17 April 2000.

Arla Foods is the seventh largest dairy company in the world measured by turnover. Among the cooperative dairy companies Arla is the third largest in the world. At the start of 2010, 7,625 Danish and Swedish cooperative members owned the cooperative.

Arla Foods has three major brands: Arla, Lurpak and Castello that are sold worldwide. The Arla Brand is both a co-operative brand and a brand across all product categories. Lurpak is the leading brand for butter and spreads and Castello is the first-class cheese brand, incl. blue cheese and yellow cheese. The name Arla derives from the same word as the English word "early" and is an archaic Swedish term for "early (in the morning)".

Arla Foods incorporates Arla Foods Ingredients, a former division established as an independent subsidiary in 2011. The company develops and manufacturers milk-based ingredients, primarily functional and nutritional milk proteins, bioactive phospholipids, minerals, permeate and lactose, for the food industry. Head office is located in Denmark.

Arla Foods Ingredients has one wholly owned production plant in Denmark, with joint venture production at facilities in Argentina and Germany. In early 2011, Arla Foods and DMK formed the joint venture company ArNoCo GmbH & Co. KG, which will produce whey proteins for the food industry.