Listen to the article
3 minutes

This audio is automatically generated. Please let us know if you have any comments.

Diving brief:

• Lactalis USA invests $55 million in its Tulare, California plantwhich will significantly increase the volume of President Feta cheese produced in the United States. The company plans to build a 38,000 square foot manufacturing line that will be operational in 2027. President first introduced feta to the United States in 1996.

• The project, which is expected to create 20 full-time positions in Tulare, comes as feta cheese gains popularity among American consumers. This investment creates Lactalis’ largest feta production line in America. It also makes feta at a plant in Belmont, Wisconsin.

• For years, Lactalis North America, a division of the French dairy company, sold its popular long-life milk brand Parmalat and its President cheese in the United States. But it recently quickly expanded its presence with the purchase of Stonyfield, Sigi, Kraft Heinz cheese brands and the recent announcement that it would be buy the U.S. and Canadian operations of several yogurt brandsincluding Yoplait, from General Mills.

Dive overview:

Even as Lactalis expands its portfolio in the United States through acquisitions, it has not lost sight of key brands like President. “This expansion helps us meet the growing demand for President Feta cheese in the United States, which is good news for our retail customers and consumers who continue to choose President Feta for cooking at home and creating new eating opportunities. taste the feta,” Esteve Torrens, CEO of Lactalis USA.

As consumers cook more at home — a legacy of COVID-19 and, more recently, inflation that has pushed people to eat out less — cheeses like feta have been the biggest beneficiaries. Despite its high amounts of sodium and saturated fat, feta is also packed with calcium, protein, and probiotics that are in high demand among today’s shoppers.

North America is the second largest consumer of feta, with sales expected to reach $4.3 billion in 2030, a compound annual growth rate of 6.5%. according to Straits Research. Lactalis is positioned to capture this growth with the addition of its new production line, while further strengthening the reach of its popular President brand among consumers.