Arla has announced its largest-ever investment in Sweden, committing €300m to build a cheese dairy at its Götene site.
The project will expand capacity, strengthen supply resilience and accelerate innovation across its network, while boosting Swedish cheese production, jobs, food security and regional growth, Arla said.
It will enable the dairy co-operative to “scale high-quality, nutritious dairy for consumers, enhance food security across its markets, and accelerate innovation in core cheese categories”, it added.
Götene is one of Arla’s largest production sites, with around 600 employees producing butter and spreads, milk powder and cheese.
With the new dairy, the site is expected to receive one billion kilos of milk per year, roughly double its current volume.
There would also be new jobs at the dairy and indirectly among farmers and suppliers, Arla pledged.
“Global demand for reliable, nutritious protein continues to grow, and dairy plays a vital role in healthy diets and resilient food systems,” said Peder Tuborgh, CEO of Arla Foods. “We are investing at scale to build modern, efficient capacity that serves consumers across our markets, strengthens food security and advances innovation.”
He continued: “The clear political commitment in Sweden to increase food production and self-sufficiency has been a key factor for this decision.”
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The investment complements Arla’s broader programme of growth projects across key markets including in the UK market where Arla invested £90m to create a UHT and lactose-free milk centre of excellence at Arla Lockerbie.
“We are investing consistently across our markets to build the capacity and capabilities that matter most: quality, flexibility and efficiency,” Tuborgh added. “Projects in our key markets strengthen our portfolio in important categories and help us serve customers reliably.
“Götene is a clear example of that approach, a focused investment that positions our co-operative strongly for the years ahead.”
Aligned with Sweden’s food strategy, the Götene initiative represents the largest single commitment on record in Swedish food production and is expected to lift the country’s cheese self‑sufficiency by around 10%, from approximately 37% to 47%.
“Producing more Swedish cheese is good for food security, agriculture and jobs,” said Inger-Lise Sjöström, dairy farmer and vice chair of Arla’s board of directors. “At the same time, investments like this increase the value of the milk we produce, creating long-term demand and stronger returns for farmer owners across our co-operative.”
Household cheese production will transfer from Arla’s Nr Vium dairy in Denmark once the Götene facility becomes operational in 2030, freeing the Danish site to focus on ”high‑demand products” for Arla’s international and eurozone markets.
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