Lactalis Canada, a subsidiary of French dairy giant Lactalis, announces it will expand its milk alternative offerings by converting its Sudbury, Ontario plant into a dedicated plant-based facility over the coming months. To accommodate these changes, the company will cease all fluid dairy milk production and packaging at its Sudbury facility by September 30th.
“We are constantly following the consumer and continually seeking opportunities to innovate and respond to the market”
The move is intended to increase the company’s selection of dairy-free milk alternatives, which currently include siggi’s coconut milk yogurt, soymilk brand Sensational Soy and Lactantia margarine.
According to Lactalis, the decision to end Sudbury’s fluid milk production was driven by “long-term volume decline” and “increased costs in the fluid milk market in Ontario” which led to decreased profitability and sustainability.
The company says it will transfer Sudbury’s dairy milk processing operations to other facilities in Ontario and Quebec, and there will be no disruption to its product supply. It also plans to retain most of Sudbury’s workforce during the transition.
Last week, Sapencia, another French dairy multinational, expanded its plant-based brand Vivre Vert, which first launched in October 2021, and features a range of dairy-free milk, cheese, cream and yogurt.
Enriching lives
“While our core business is dairy, as an innovation leader and as demonstrated by our forthcoming expansion into plant-based, we are constantly following the consumer and continually seeking opportunities to innovate and respond to the market,” said Mark Taylor, President & CEO, Lactalis Canada.
He continued, “Our purpose is to enrich and nurture the lives of Canadians and this holds the same for our new offering, which will provide consumers with complementary high-quality plant-based products that will benefit from our current capacity and capabilities as well as our rich and long-standing dairy expertise.”
