Arla Foods has struck a deal to acquire Australian cottage cheese producer Brancourts.
The transaction was executed through the co-op’s Arla Foods Mayer Australia (AFMA) venture. Arla owns a majority stake in the venture with the Australian family-owned company Mayers Fine Food.
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Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1895, Brancourts is a family-run business based in New South Wales. Arla told Just Food Brancourts primarily sells cottage cheese within Australia while exporting a small amount of sweet condensed milk.
The company employs roughly 55 people, with its sales figures remaining confidential.
“AFMA brings the ambition to invest in the future of the business, while respecting the heritage, people and local relationships that have defined Brancourts for generations,” Julie Conradt, the fourth-generation owner of Brancourts, said in a statement.
Arla described the purchase as a “natural next step” in “strengthening” its position in Australia, where it already markets Lurpak butter and Castello cheese.
Lillie Li Valeur, the executive vice president of Arla’s International division, called Australia a “highly attractive” market.
“The country combines a stable economy, high purchasing power, population growth as well as strong dairy traditions with high consumption and a sophisticated retail environment similar to Europe,” she said. “Moreover, with the free trade agreements between EU-Australia and UK-Australia coming fully into effect, we anticipate even more opportunities in the years to come.”
The deal is scheduled to take effect in a “few weeks”.
It follows recent efforts by the Danish co-operative to increase its cheese manufacturing capacity.
In February, Arla directed €300m (then $353.5m) toward a new production facility at its site in Götene, Sweden. That built upon a Skr70m (then $7.4m) investment in December at the Falkenberg plant in Sweden, aiming to grow the annual production of Keso branded cottage cheese by 1,500 tonnes.
In 2025, Arla posted a 9.4% revenue increase to a “record” €15.1bn, supported by a “record intake” of milk totalling 14.3bn kilograms. The international division accounted for 16.3% of the group’s revenues, with sales increasing by 1% to reach €2.46bn.
For the upcoming year, Arla estimates its group sales revenue will land between €13bn and €14.1bn, “reflecting the lower market prices compared to the highs of early 2025”.
The co-operative reported a 6.9% rise in total branded revenue to €7.03bn, attributing the growth to its “ability to maintain rightful price points during a period of inflation”. Core brands such as Arla, Lurpak, Puck, and Castello reported 0.2% growth in 2025.
