Design opportunities as Milk Marque reshuffled

The break-up of the Milk Marque farmers co-operative is set to offer a number of opportunities for design consultancies.

The break-up of the Milk Marque farmers co-operative is set to offer a number of opportunities for design consultancies.

The £1bn turnover reseller, which markets milk to over 300 dairy companies, has announced it is to break itself up into three regional groups. The changes are in response to Department of Trade and Industry concerns that it has too much of a stranglehold on the market at present.

The future of Milk Marque’s product development centre in Reaseheath, which provides consultancy and publication services, is uncertain.

Newly-proposed operations will be set up following a forthcoming extraordinary general meeting. The three marketing groups will be set up independently and work in mutual competition with each other.

Milk Marque chairman Poul Christensen has set April 2000 as a target date for introducing the bulk of the changes. “These plans are subject to the support of Milk Marque members at an EGM. There will be consultation with staff and other interested parties,” he says.

A spokeswoman for Express Dairies, which buys around 50 per cent of its milk from the Milk Marque co-operative, says that any re-organisation and rebranding will need to be in place well before September next year.

“We don’t really know what impact the restructure will have, but by September 2000 we will be looking to have orders in place for the following year. There is a lot to be done,” she says.

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