To open more doors for its US Foodservice business, Fonterra has entered a sales and marketing agreement with one of America’s leading dairy co-operatives, Land O’Lakes, Inc.

The arrangement will open up opportunities to expand the reach of Fonterra’s Foodservice products into other US foodservice outlets. 

Fonterra’s Global Director Foodservice, Paul Harvey, says the US is not only the largest dairy foodservice market in the world, it is also the most competitive.

“Land O’Lakes works with all major US national and top regional foodservice distributors and this will help enable potential national distribution of Fonterra products.

“While Fonterra has been in the US Foodservice market for a number of years, breaking into it at any great scale requires a fresh approach.

“By working with Land O’Lakes, we will have access to a strong, well-established distribution network and their large customer base.

“A big part in securing the partnership was our reputation for developing a range of innovative dairy products, along with our commitment to food safety and quality, which gives people confidence to choose our products.

“Land O’Lakes will help us distribute, promote and sell our cooking creams and cream cheese and, in the future, we will look to expand our relationship into other categories such as cheese products.”

“We are excited to leverage the knowledge and expertise our two co-operatives have in dairy with a broader portfolio of products designed to help foodservice operators make the most of dairy in their kitchens,” says Catherine Fox, Vice President, Marketing, Land O’Lakes Dairy Foods.

Greg Somerville, Vice-President, Sales, Land O’Lakes Dairy Foods, added, “As a result of COVID-19, performance products in Foodservice will be of utmost importance to operators. The Land O’Lakes Foodservice Sales team is looking forward to adding Fonterra’s high-performance products to our portfolio, which will enable us to provide an expanded range of solutions to existing and new segments and operators.”

Paul says that, when Fonterra launched its value focused strategy last year, it was clear it would develop its Foodservice markets. 

“We want to do this by collaborating more with like-minded partners, leveraging our intellectual property and skills, rather than making significant capital investments of our own. This agreement with Land O’Lakes is a great example of this and one we could look to apply in other markets too.”

About Land O’Lakes, Inc. 

Land O'Lakes, Inc., one of America's premier agribusiness and food companies, is a member-owned co-operative with industry-leading operations that span the spectrum from agricultural production to consumer foods. With 2019 annual sales of $14 billion, Land O'Lakes is one of the nation's largest co-operatives, ranking 232 on the Fortune 500. Building on a legacy of more than 99 years of operation, Land O'Lakes today operates some of the most respected brands in agribusiness and food production including Land O’Lakes Dairy Foods, Purina Animal Nutrition, WinField United and Truterra. The company does business in all 50 states and more than 60 countries. Land O'Lakes, Inc. corporate headquarters are located in Arden Hills, Minnesota.

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