US farmer-owned organic cooperative, CROPP, and European organic dairy cooperative, the Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative (OMSCo), have entered into an "international partnership" that will see the two cooperatives take ownership in each other while retaining their independence.
The arrangement will “provide international opportunities and domestic flexibility”, the cooperatives said. It will open up access to new markets, products and technical expertise. The organisations will share best practice in organic dairy farming.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
“OMSCo and CROPP are the two largest dedicated organic dairy pools in the world, with a combined organic milk supply of almost 1bn litres,” said Richard Hampton, managing director of OMSCo. “Over recent years we have developed a close working relationship with CROPP, who is responsible for the marketing and distribution of OMSCo’s Kingdom Cheddar brand – the only European organic cheese available in the US market. Our relationship has naturally evolved, and this alliance is the next step. This agreement will allow both cooperatives to market each other’s bulk and branded products and, by working together, OMSCo will be better prepared to satisfy the growing global appetite for organic dairy products.”
CROPP vice president Eric Newman added that the move was important for the cooperative on “a global scale”. He continued: “This partnership will offer farmers in both cooperatives a stable and sustainable price, greater efficiencies in distribution, greater access to a wider range of markets and opportunities to improve the balancing of our milk supplies.”
CROPP owns and operates the Organic Valley and Organic Prairie brands, with 1800 farmer-owners in 32 states. OMSCo, based in Somerset, UK, is the largest exclusively organic dairy cooperative in Europe with around 20% of sales allocated to export, including the only European organic dairy product certified by the USDA’s National Organic Program.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData
