Arla and Sodiaal: early life nutrition gets a new boost

Arla Foods Ingredients (AFI) is experiencing rapid growth and is expecting a capacity shortage at its Danmark Protein and ARINCO facilities in Denmark. To enable further expansion, Arla is transforming the ARINCO plant in Videbæk into a dedicated production site for ingredients.

AFI supplies premium ingredients globally for markets including early life nutrition, clinical nutrition, and sports nutrition. According to Luis Cubel, Group Vice President of AFI, this strategic move will accelerate growth plans and further strengthen Arla's position in the global market.

Phasing out of B2B early life nutrition production

Currently, ARINCO produces milk powder for AFI's B2B early life nutrition (ELN) sector. However, these B2B activities will be phased out within the next 19 months. Arla will continue to focus on its branded ELN products and plans to expand this segment.

As part of this new strategy, Arla has initiated a partnership with the French cooperative Sodiaal. Sodiaal will produce ELN products for Arla in China and other markets, thereby strengthening their collaboration in China. This will free up additional capacity for ingredient production at ARINCO.

Impact on employment and redeployment plans

Unfortunately, these changes will affect around 170 jobs at ARINCO and the Aarhus headquarters. Over the next 19 months, Arla will aim to retrain and redeploy employees internally, though layoffs are inevitable.

The ELN production at ARINCO will cease by the end of Q1 2026, with Arla ensuring that all customer needs are met until then.

Source: Arla Food Ingredients