| Groupe Lactalis S.A. | |
| Type: | Private |
| Trade Name: | Lactalis |
| Former Name: | Besnier S.A. |
| Founder: | André Besnier |
| Location City: | Laval, Mayenne |
| Location Country: | France |
| Area Served: | Worldwide |
| Key People: | Emmanuel Besnier, CEO |
| Industry: | Dairy products |
| Products: | Cheese, butter, milk |
| Revenue: | €28.30 billion (2022) |
| Net Income: | €318 million (2019) |
| Owner: | Besnier family via Belgian holding company BSA International SA |
| Num Employees: | 85,000 |
| Subsid: | Lactalis-Nestlé Fresh Products Lactalis Nestle Chilled Dairy Co. Ltd. |
Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A.
Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the second largest food products group in France, behind Danone.[1] It owns brands such as Parmalat, Président, Siggi's Dairy, Skånemejerier, Rachel's Organic, and Stonyfield Farm.[2]
André Besnier started a small cheesemaking company in 1933 and launched its Président brand of Camembert in 1968. In 1990, it acquired Group Bridel (2,300 employees, 10 factories, fourth-largest French dairy group) with a presence in 60 countries. In 1992, it acquired United States cheese company Sorrento. In 1999, la société Besnier became le groupe Lactalis owned by Belgian holding company BSA International SA. In 2006, they bought Italian group Galbani, and in 2008, bought Swiss cheesemaker Baer. They bought Italian group Parmalat in a 2011 2.5B € takeover after its bankruptcy and have since sought to delist it. In 2013, the Sorrento and Precious brands in the US were renamed Galbani, and the Sorrento Lactalis division was renamed Lactalis American Group.
In 2007, the French Institut National des Appellations d'Origine, which administers AOC (L'appellation d'origine contrôlée) designations for French food products, refused to permit Lactalis and the dairy cooperative, Isigny-Sainte-Mère, to sell pasteurized Camembert as "true Camembert". As of 2007, these two companies represented between 80 and 90% of Normandy Camembert sales.[3] During that same year, it acquired the Croatian dairy company Dukat. In 2018, the INAO announced it would relax restrictions and create a new designation to include pasteurized Camembert in 2021.[4]
Lactilis acquired the southern Swedish dairy company, Skånemejerier, in February 2012.
In May 2015, Lactalis acquired an 80% stake in Turkish dairy Ak Gida, a subsidiary of Yildiz Holding.[5] [6] [7] [8]
In July 2017 it was announced that Groupe Danone had agreed to sell its Stonyfield Farm subsidiary to Lactalis for $875 Million[9] to avoid anti-trust claims and to clear the way for Danone's acquisition of U.S. organic food producer WhiteWave Foods.[10]
In December 2017, Lactalis announced the acquisition of dairy company Itambé.[11]
In January 2018, Lactalis announced it had agreed to purchase the skyr producer Siggi's Dairy, which will continue to be run independently.[12]
In October 2018, Lactalis announced the acquisition of Nestlé Malaysia's chilled dairy business unit for approximately $40 million.[13]
Lactalis's Indian subsidiary Tirumala Milk Products said that it would acquire Prabhat's dairy business for ₹17 Billion. This will be Lactalis's third acquisition in India.[14]
On 15 September 2020, Groupe Lactalis announced an agreement to acquire Kraft Heinz's natural cheese operations in North America and internationally for $3.2 billion.[15] The U.S. Department of Justice ruled that Lactalis must divest the Athenos and Polly-O cheese brands.[16]
In April 2023, Lactalis American Group announced an investment of $32 million to construct a new whey-processing facility in South Buffalo, boosting its production of the ingredient by 30%.[17]
Owned by the Belgian holding company BSA International SA, which is controlled by the Besnier family that founded Lactalis, Lactalis in 2015 had global revenues of 16.5 billion euros. Lactalis employs 75,000 people worldwide, at 237 production sites in 43 countries.[18] The headquarters for Lactalis American Group, Inc. is located in Buffalo, New York.
In August 2016, farmers blockaded the company's headquarters in Laval, protesting what they saw as price fixing.[19]
In January 2018, the company had to withdraw 12 million boxes of baby formula due to a salmonella contamination. They were accused of trying to hide the initial discovery of contamination, which led to the crisis.[20] [21] [22]
In 2020 allegations were made that 38 of Lactalis's production plants in France had breached environmental regulations, and had been doing so for a number of years. Lactalis stated it had invested €60 million in improving wastewater treatment plants.[23]
In February 2023, Lactalis Group and Celia Laiterie de Craon, a company linked to the group, were charged with aggravated deception, involuntary injuries and non-execution of withdrawal and recall measures in a five-year-old case where babies were diagnosed with salmonellosis after consuming the French dairy group's infant milk products, with both firms placed under judicial supervision with a bond of €300,000 each.[24]
In July 2023, Lactalis Australia was fined by the Federal Court for breaching the Dairy Code of Conduct in 2020.[25]
In February 2024, the Spanish Spanish; Castilian: [[Audiencia Nacional]] fined Lactalis with 11.69 million euros for forming a cartel with other milk companies to avoid competition when buying milk from Spanish farmers between 2000 and 2013.The farmers can now further sue for damages.[26]
The group operates in eight divisions:
Lactalis owns 198 industrial sites in 55 countries including the US, Romania, Poland, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia ("სანტე" brand), United Kingdom, Australia and as of 2011, Canada and South Africa. Lactalis mostly produces yogurt, butter, cheese, powdered milk, baby formula and milk drinks.