Arla Foods seeks buyer for Melton Mowbray speciality cheese site

Arla Foods has on Monday announced that it will be undertaking a strategic operational review of its speciality cheese site at Melton Mowbray.

Arla Melton Mowbray Creamery UK, also known locally as Tuxford & Tebbutt, currently employs around 60 people. During the review process, the business will be exploring the market for any buyers of its Melton Mowbray creamery.

The site will continue to be operational during this time, and there will be no impact to production, customers, or employees, the dairy cooperative said.

“At Arla we are committed to supporting all colleagues through periods of change and we understand that today’s announcement will bring a sense of uncertainty for those who work at Melton Mowbray and those who work directly with the site team,” Fran Ball, vice president of production at Arla Foods, said.

“Over the last few years, the speciality cheese market in the UK, which includes Stilton, has continued to decline, and as a farmer owned cooperative, we are therefore looking at what this means for our business so we can continue to return a fair price back to our 2,000 UK farmer owners.

“Here at Arla Foods, we are proud of the heritage that we have from our creameries across the UK. We are privileged to employ some of the finest cheese makers in the country, which includes those at our Arla Melton Mowbray Creamery UK.

“We’d like to reassure shoppers that there will be no impact to the supply of our products, during this review period.”

The business expects to be providing an update on the review by April 2024.