Global drinks giant Coca-Cola has taken full control of Fairlife, the liquid milk brand which produces a portfolio of added-value dairy beverages for consumers in North America.

Coca-Cola announced last week that it had acquired the remaining 57.5% stake in the Fairlife business for an undisclosed sum from Select Milk Producers, a 100-strong group of US dairy farmers.

Partners

Select Milk Producers and Coca-Cola have been joint venture partners in the Fairlife business since 2014, with Coca-Cola originally owning a minority 42.5% of the shares in Fairlife.

The world’s largest drinks brand has now taken full control of Fairlife, which recorded liquid milk sales in excess of $500m (€450m) last year.

Since its launch, Fairlife has been extremely successful in the US market

Fairlife milk products cost twice the price of regular liquid milk and are marketed as a healthy drink containing 50% more protein and 30% less sugar than standard milk.

Since its launch, Fairlife has been extremely successful in the US market, with over 40% of Fairlife sales coming from consumers who had previously stopped drinking milk but had now returned to dairy.

Last year, the Irish Farmers Journal revealed how Coca-Cola is considering establishing a dairy processing plant in Co Cork. Senior executives in Coca-Cola have visited Ireland a number of times to learn about the Irish dairy industry.

Coca-Cola executives have visited Teagasc Moorepark in Cork and the Dairy Processing Technology Centre (DPTC) at the University of Limerick to get a better understanding of the R&D work ongoing in the Irish dairy sector.