Arla Foods Ltd., a subsidiary of Arla Foods amba, Germany, announced plans to acquire Yeo Valley Dairies Ltd., an England-based subsidiary of the Yeo Valley Group Ltd. The transaction will give Arla Foods the rights to use the Yeo Valley brand in the UK market for milk, butter, spreads and cheese under an intellectual property license with Yeo Valley.

The Yeo Valley yogurt, ice cream, cream and desserts business will continue to run independently through Yeo Valley Group.

"The potential for organic dairy products in the UK is significant, and our investment in range through this licensing agreement with Yeo Valley provides a significant opportunity to offer a greater choice to consumers at attractive prices,” says Peter Giørtz-Carlsen, executive vice president and head of Europe for Arla Foods. “Our ambition is to encourage customers in the UK to trade up from standard to organic milk, butter and cheese, driving overall growth for organic across dairy categories.”

“As the world’s leading producer of organic dairy products, Arla has promoted and expanded our sales of organic products across its European core markets over the past decade. It is a valuable part of our offer to consumers in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands as well as China, and most recently, in the Middle East. Now we take a determined step to make organic dairy products more available to UK consumers, as we believe that organic milk has a key role to play as consumers increasingly look for ways to make their diets healthier and more natural," says Giørtz-Carlsen.

“Arla’s farmer-owned credentials are aligned to the values and ethos that the Yeo Valley brand is based on Supporting British Family Farms. We have a long-held ambition to grow organic dairy in the UK,” says Tim Mead, organic farmer and custodian of Yeo Valley.