Morrisons capitalises on own brand with Arla tie-up

Bradford-based supermarket chain Morrisons has signed on Danish dairy group Arla Foods to deliver own-brand milk for the grocer.

The three-year contract will start in March 2018.

It said as part of the deal that the supermarket is looking to commit to “further enhancing” its regional and local milk offering.

In a statement Morrisons said: “Morrisons is looking forward to working more closely with their farmers on a range of sustainability and animal welfare measures.”

Steve Newbould, Morrisons head of trading – Dairy, said: “We believe this agreement will be simpler for our business and will help to develop a sustainable dairy sector.”

This follows Kantar Worldpanel results earlier this month which showed that own-brand and premium label products were pushing growth at the Big Four.

Morrisons had shown the fastest growth of any of its main competitors, reporting a like-for-like sales rise of 3.4% in its first quarter of the year, but still lost out on marketshare to the encroaching discounters Aldi and Lidl.

Arla has a similar agreement with competitor Asda.