Press release -
£50m Telford expansion gives Müller 500m pot capacity, creates 65 jobs
A £50 million expansion project to build a chilled yogurt manufacturing facility capable of producing 500 million pots each year in Telford, has been completed.
The investment, which has created 65 new jobs in the area, enables Müller to meet growing demand from consumers for branded and private label yogurts made with milk from British farms.
The project has doubled the size of the company’s current Telford site, increasing its capacity to make products in formats including big pots, split pots and regular fruited yogurts.
The Telford expansion includes the installation of three new state-of-the-art production lines, the modernisation of three existing lines, the installation of an energy efficient cooling facility and a new automated high bay warehouse.
It also ensures that Müller has the manufacturing footprint to pursue potential further increases in production at the site of up to 700 million pots in future years, as the business continues to grow.
Müller has major yogurt and chilled desserts manufacturing sites at Market Drayton and Minsterley and the company was recently named as the number one dairy brand in the UK according to Kantar’s 2019 UK Brand Footprint report[1]. The report also shows that Müller is the 8th most chosen FMCG brand in the UK, picked 217 million times from shelves by consumers throughout 2018[2].
Within the Chilled Yogurt and Potted Dessert category, Müller makes the No 1 and No 2 brands, Müllerlight and Müller Corner[3].
Bergen Merey, Managing Director at Müller Yogurt & Desserts said:
“We are very proud of what we have achieved at Telford. This is a major step towards reducing the UK’s dependence on imported yogurt products, and it gives us a significant competitive advantage.
“We have acted to enable us to increase our share of both the private label and branded yogurt category. We intend to leverage our greater capabilities to support the growth of our private label business whilst we continue to innovate and drive our core branded products like Müllerlight and Müller Corner.
“Yogurt is at the heart of the dairy category, with consumers asking for a wide range of delicious branded and private label yogurts that are made with their needs in mind – offering everyday dairy goodness, indulgence, protein, lactose free, natural, fat free and reduced or zero added sugar.
“As a result of this investment, Müller customers will benefit from increased levels of innovation, choice and capabilities to make healthy, great tasting yogurt products made in Britain with milk from British farms.”
[1] Brand Footprint – The UK ranking of the most chosen dairy brands - Kantar
[2] Brand Footprint – UK/FMCG - https://www.kantarworldpanel.com/brand-footprint-ranking/#/explore-the-data?type=brand-ranking&view=table&area=UK§or=fmcg&brandOne=null&brandTwo=null
[3] Nielsen |Total GB |52 w/e 26th Jan 2019
Topics
Müller UK & Ireland is wholly owned by Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller which employs 24,000 people throughout Europe. In the UK, Müller develops, manufactures and markets a wide range of branded and private label dairy products made with milk from more than 1,650 British farmers.
The Müller brand is ranked at No.9 in The Grocer’s Top 100 list of Britain’s Biggest Brands, and is also the 8th most chosen brand in the UK, picked from shelves more than 217 million times each year. Müller UK & Ireland comprises three business units:
Müller Milk & Ingredients is Britain’s largest producer of branded and private label fresh milk, cream, butter and ingredients products, with a network of dairies and depots servicing customers throughout the country.
Müller Yogurt & Desserts is the UK’s leading yogurt manufacturer responsible for major brands like Müllerlight, Müller Corner and Müller Rice. It produces chilled desserts under licence from Mondelez International and supplies the UK private label yogurt market from a dedicated, state of the art yogurt facility.
Milk & More delivers daily essentials to more than 500,000 homes in England, via a network of 53 local fulfilment centres. The milkman is arguably the original home delivery service and Milk & More is ensuring that this great British tradition continues to flourish.
Müller is an Official Supporter of British Athletics and Athletics Ireland. With branding and activation rights for five events in 2019, Müller aims to empower consumers to make active and healthy lifestyle choices.
For further information, see Müller Now, our first ever industry report.
