Arla Foods Ingredients is now moving forward with its acquisition of Volac’s Whey Nutrition business, after it was approved by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.
The business is built around a processing facility at Felinfach in Wales, which handles large volumes of whey and specialises in the production of whey protein isolate (WPI).
The site will now become a place for global production facilities, with further investment and expansion planned in the coming years.
The acquisition provides for a “significant” additional quantity of whey, helping meet a growing market need, with particular demand for WPI in the health and sports nutrition sectors.
Arla Foods Ingredients now projects that its sales of WPI will rise significantly over the next five years. The facility will also produce whey fat concentrate and lactose.
Group vice president and managing director of Arla Foods Ingredients, Luis Cubel said: “Having Volac’s experts – and its network of trusted supply partners – as part of our team gives us several strategic advantages.
“It expands our market reach, helping us serve even more customers, and strengthens our global supply chain at a time when demand for whey is growing.”
Arla Foods Ingredients
“We look forward to learning from our new colleagues and partners and harnessing our respective strengths to meet the evolving needs of manufacturers and consumers, especially in the sports nutrition space,” Cubel added.
Arla Foods Ingredients is headquartered in Denmark and is a subsidiary of Arla Foods – an international dairy company owned by more than 8,400 farmers from Denmark, Sweden, the UK, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
It serves global brands in early life nutrition, medical nutrition, sports nutrition, health foods, and other foods and beverages.
In 2023, the global sports nutrition market size was valued at $45.24 billion (€42.37 billion), and was expected to expand by a further 7.5% in 2024, according to data analytics site, Grand View Research.