Danish Dairy Giant Inks Defor to make whey proteins in the United States

Arla Foods, one of the largest dairy cooperatives in the world, expands its American presence by associating a processor to make its whey protein for the food and drinks industry.

The dairy giant said that Valley Queen, based in southern Dakota, will produce ingredients for the Nutrilac Proteinboost line. The lactrum protein concentrate aims to stimulate protein content in food and drinks without compromising taste or texture.

“The demand for protein-enriched dairy products continues to grow in the United States,” said Luis Cubel, Vice-President of the Group and Managing Director of Arla Foods Ingredients, in a statement.

The production of Valley Queen’s Plant in Milbank, southern Dakota, will begin this winter after the company has installed specialized equipment. Valley Queen, which has around 440 employees, manages about three billion pounds of milk per year.

Owned by 8,400 farmers in seven European countries, Arla has considerably widened its ingredient activities by focusing on sports nutrition and proteins. Last year, the company received regulatory approval To buy Lactrum nutrition activity from competitor Volac, a Cubel movement said at the time “consolidate our position as a leader in space”.

Arla pushes more deeply in the ingredient space because it expects a sale pressure in 2025 of rise in milk prices that could reduce consumer demand. The cooperative declared a strong financial performance in 2024, with income in its The ingredient segment increasing by 5.4% due to the demand for wheels based on whey.

According to Stonex. North America represented 38% of the share of revenues for whey proteins in 2023, according to priority, the global market estimated at $ 10.7 billions this year.

Arla has developed in the United States in the past three decades thanks to a series of partnerships and acquisitions. Arla bought a dairy white clover based in Wisconsin in 2006 a few years after concluding a license agreement with the specialized cheese manufacturer. In 2017, the cooperative trained a joint venture with American dairy producers to enlarge the production of cheddar in the United States