News Kraft Heinz
Lactalis to divest parts of US purchase
Dairy giant Lactalis, recently also owner of Leerdammer cheese, has to divest several brands in the US in order to obtain final approval for the acquisition of the dairy activities of Kraft Heinz. This is what the US Department of Justice demands.
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In the US, competition cases are handled by the Department of Justice. It's about the brands Polly-O and Athenos from Kraft Heinz. Sales of both brands have now started. If Lactalis did not sell both brands, the company would have too large a market share in a number of regional markets in the US.
Until 2017, Lactalis had a limited presence in the US. Through its subsidiary Parmalat, the company only sold a few drinking milk products and cheese from the President brand. The situation has changed drastically since then. First, the company acquired Stonyfield from Danone for $875 million. This company is particularly strong in organic dairy. The purchase of yogurt producer Siggi's followed in 2018. In 2020, Lactalis bought the dairy division of Kraft Heinz for an amount of $3,2 billion.
Opportunities in the American cheese market
Lactalis sees good opportunities in the American cheese market. In 2014, the size of this market in the US was more than 5 million tons, but it is currently estimated at 6 million tons per year. Although there is increasing competition from plant-based products, market researchers do not see this as a major threat to cheese sales for the time being.