Summary
- Arla’s long-term investments in ingredients, foodservice and brand innovation have driven steady revenue and profit growth
- Protein-focused ingredient expansion and R&D have been major contributors to the co-op’s sustained global performance
- Demand for high-protein and convenient on-the-go products is boosting both ingredients and branded ranges, including Starbucks RTD coffee
- Strong growth in RTD coffee and protein drinks shows Arla is successfully capitalising on consumer trends and its strategic partnerships
Success doesn’t happen overnight, especially in a business as dynamic as dairy. In this industry, performance requires a concrete yet agile long-term direction and disciplined action.
For Arla Foods – which navigated a complex consumer and commodity landscape to achieve a record-breaking year in 2025 – its performance proves the co-op has done the right moves in recent years.
In the past seven years, the co-op has actively strengthened its global ingredients and foodservice arms; invested in its brands and expanded formats; and maintained key collaborations, such as its long-term relationship with Starbucks.
These moves have paid off consistently. Arla’s revenue has grown from around €10.5bn to over €15bn in seven years; the co-op has maintained a stable profit margin and posted an increase in net profit in the period.
The diversity of its operations has meant it weathered the pandemic storm through strong retail sales, while in more recent times – including in 2025 – its B2B businesses accelerated group performance in a challenging consumer environment.
Ingredients – and specifically, protein – have been key to Arla’s growth over time and its increasing impact on the global dairy scene.
The co-op made several crucial moves in this space. It expanded its protein production capabilities through strategic acquisitions and by repurposing existing facilities; and has continuously invested in R&D to gain influence and presence outside of food and into the burgeoning specialized and medical nutrition space.
And on the branded product side, the co-op has adapted to changing consumer preferences by introducing new formats, such as cottage cheese and high-protein ranges; and adapted its existing line-up to improve the access and appeal of its premium brands: for example, by introducing plant-based and mini blocks of Lurpak butter.
In 2025 alone, this approach has delivered in spades – here’s how.
Why protein is driving growth
Arla’s ingredients division posted the highest growth across the group in 2025 with a 29% increase in protein ingredient sales a major driver here.
The reason for this growth is linked to two major converging global trends.
The first one is an increase in ‘educated consumers’ who seek out nutrition that fits their exact lifestyle and dietary needs (and yes, this includes GLP-1 medication users). And the second one is the rise of on-the-go lifestyles where shoppers want good nutrition but lack the time commitment to maintain a routine alone.
Dairy can be an answer in both cases thanks to its unique composition of nutrients, taste, texture and application options – and manufacturers across food and nutrition continue to realise and exploit this, to the benefit of dairy ingredient manufacturers like Arla Foods Ingredients.
And because the demand is global, it’s also sustainable in the long-run: meaning that the co-op can be safe in building its business around B2B as a stable revenue source.
The staying power of modern drink formats
The second of the two major trends outlined above is also fuelling growth in convenience formats, such as Starbucks-branded RTD coffee, which Arla produces and markets in the UK and EMEA under a long-term licence with the global coffee chain.
Starbucks was the only brand in Arla’s portfolio that delivered volume-driven growth in 2025 – and it’s becoming increasingly influential for reasons beyond Starbucks’ brand appeal.
RTD coffee is on a growth trajectory. The value growth of this category across key markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) reached around 9% in 2025.
The space is driven by excitement around cold coffee, especially among younger consumers and those who seek convenience without compromising on taste, quality, or flavor variety. With convenient and portable formats and new flavor options, the category fits well in consumers’ increasingly active, on-the-go lifestyles.
Protein is a common thread in this narrative: approximately 30% of Starbucks RTD 2025 growth was driven by the launch of the Protein Drinks with Coffee.
Then, 50% came from operational decisions, ie Arla Foods’ taking over distribution of the Starbucks portfolio in France and Belgium – with the remaining 20% down to portfolio growth in existing markets.
Crucially, Starbucks is the leading RTD chilled coffee brand in EMEA, giving Arla an enviable position among its competitors in this space.
Overall, if 2025 is any indication, Arla Foods is only just beginning to tap the full potential of its long-term strategy.
