A major move in mozzarella

The increasing global demand for mozzarella secures an expansion of Branderup Dairy in Denmark. Arla will invest EUR 80 million to more than double the production of mozzarella at the plant. At the same time, the production is enhanced with the use of new and more sustainable technology.

The expansion of Branderup Dairy confirms Arla as a leader on the world stage in the production of mozzarella. Arla's mozzarella production in Denmark is concentrated on Branderup and Rødkærsbro Dairies. From here, cheeses are shipped worldwide to 100 countries on all continents. The success is due, among other things, to developing regions around the world demanding more cheese as fast food products such as pizza are growing worldwide. Arla expects the European mozzarella cheese market to increase from around 650.000 tonnes in 2019 to 720.000 tonnes by 2022.

”We are very pleased with the expansion of Branderup Dairy. An expansion of this size places Arla in the forefront as one of the world’s leading producers of mozzarella cheese and gives us the opportunity to build on that position as a supplier of high quality mozzarella in Europe, Asia, USA and the Middle East,” says Sami Naffakh, Executive Vice President for Supply Chain.

Production of mozzarella more than doubles

In the beginning of 2020 the expansion at Branderup Dairy in Denmark starts. From the outside it may not look like much but inside the dairy, Arla will expand the milk weighing capacity, milk silo inventory, milk processing area, storage capacity and add a cheese production line to increase the annual production with 53 million kilos of mozzarella. The amount of extra cheese more than doubles the current mozzarella production, so that Branderup Dairy in the future will produce 91 million kilos of mozzarella per year.

“We are very proud of our production of high quality mozzarella at Branderup Dairy and it is a very gratifying that a growing demand for our products now means that we must more than double our production. It helps create the future of dairy and I am happy for Arla, the dairy and our farmer owners, ”says Rene Nørgaard, Senior Director of Arla's mozzarella production.

Arla will also create approximately 25 new jobs in the local market in connection with the increased capacity.

Sustainable expansion

The new investment is also an investment in more sustainable technology. Going forward the dairy will reduce its use of water significantly and the expansion ensures that the dairy also can invest in green energy solutions in the future.

“At Arla, we work with sustainability in all aspects of dairy production from the farm to the consumer. We also assume this responsibility at Branderup Dairy and therefore we aim to reuse as much water as possible, and will use the latest energy-optimized equipment for the expansion, ”says Rene Nørgaard.

Focusing on water reuse and other production improvements is another step on the road towards Arla's climate goal of reducing total CO2 emissions by 30 percent by 2030 compared to 2015, and becoming CO2 neutral in 2050.

The design phase of the construction is already happening and the work itself will begin in early 2020. The expansion of Branderup Dairy is expected to be completed in the summer of 2021.