Müller announces €113m investment in UK yogurt & desserts
Müller will invest around €113m over the next three years to facilitate a new generation of branded and private label yogurt and desserts products, made from milk produced by British farmers.
The company plans to develop its brands Müllerlight, Müller Corner and Müller Rice, in addition to building on its licensing agreement with Mondelez to develop its range of Cadbury products.
Capacity and capabilities at its three sites in Shropshire, UK will be further upgraded, including doubling the size of the Telford facility by 2020.
Plans for its yogurt and desserts business are guided by a category vision which identified a potential £233m of yogurt and desserts category growth by 2020, to be delivered by bringing new products to the market.
This year, Müller has introduced a range of ‘Big Pot’ yogurts, its first ever whipped, fat-free Greek style yogurt and its first branded shareable dessert. It has also announced the arrival of Müller White Velvet and two Müller Corner SKUs with spoons to target the growing food to go market.
And most recently, the company introduced Müller Rice 5 Grains, which includes white rice, barley, spelt, millet and wheat. It is an on-the-go snack for consumers.
Müller has also extended its successful partnership with British Athletics so that it has branding and activation rights for six major athletics events in 2018 and 2019.
Bergen Merey, managing director of Müller Yogurt & Desserts, says, “This unprecedented level of investment will ensure that we can offer an increasing portfolio of great yogurt and desserts products made in Britain with milk from British farmers, which meet the needs of our customers.
“Müller’s approach in the UK within the yogurt and desserts and milk and ingredients sectors, is to grow our capabilities so that we can reduce the UK’s dependence on imported dairy products, and build a vibrant future for the British dairy industry.”
