Understanding how privately owned European milk companies operate

The majority of European milk is purchased by co-operatives (c.60%), however, a large chunk of milk produced in major European milk producing countries such as France, the UK and Germany is purchased by private companies. One of the key differences between private and co-operatives entities is that milk suppliers are not the owners of the business, and hence processing investment decisions, milk payment decisions and retained earnings for growth are in the hands of private owners not milk suppliers. Frischli, is a German private milk processing company and is one of the most modern and high performance dairies in Germany. For over 125 years, the owner-managed company has produced dairy products, which fulfil the highest standards for quality, sustainability and taste. Processing over 1 billion litres of milk annually it has business in retail, food service and export markets. With over 1,000 employees across four processing sites it processes milk from over 750 German farmers. This week I sat down with executives from Frischli to discuss how the business runs as it celebrates 125 years in business.