Of the 20 global dairy companies, five moved down, six were shaken upwards, eight maintained the same position as 2021, and there was one new kid on the block.
The top five companies in 2022 are:
- Lactilis;
- Nestlé;
- Danone;
- Dairy Farmers of America;
- Yili.
The same companies that made it into the top five in 2021 were back again in 2022, with just two of the five switching places: third-place Danone, which was fourth in 2021, and fourth-place Dairy Farmers of America, which was third in 2021.
FrieslandCampina and Arla Foods were among the five companies to drop down the rankings – by one place each – in 2022.
Muller was among the six to jump up the ladder, from 20th position in 2021, to 17th in 2022.
The combined estimated turnover of the top-five companies is: $106.4 billion; or €90 billion.
The combined turnover of the top-20 companies jumped by 9.3% in US dollar terms, following the prior year’s decline of 0.1%.
In euro terms, the combined turnover increased by 5%.
Merger and acquisition activity by the top-20 companies remained relatively stable in 2021 compared to the prior year, but dropped in the first half of 2022, with about 10 deals announced versus 2021’s approximately 30 deals.
According to Rabobank, due to the strengthening of underlying dairy commodity prices, 2021 was a year with high turnover growth for the top-20 companies.
Lactis and Yili did not change in the ranking this year but accounted for the largest increases in turnover and acquisitions in 2021.
Lactilis’s double-digit percentage sales growth was driven by the acquisition of the Kraft Heinz’s US natural cheese business, as well as a number of other entities in 2021 and 2022.
China-based Yili took the prize for largest gain in turnover among the global top-20, despite its top-five position.
According to Rabobank, Yili’s acquisition of a majority and controlling stake in infant-milk-formula producer, Ausnutria, along with strong domestic sales growth, propelled sales by €4.4 billion to €18.2 billion – a 31.7% year-on-year increase.
New kid on the block
Private-equity ice-cream company, Froneri, is new to the top 20 this year. It was established as a joint venture between Nestlé and PAI Partners in 2016, combining some of their ice-cream activities.
A series of acquisitions – Nestlé Ice Cream Israel in 2019, Tip Top Ice Cream from Fonterra in 2019 and Nestlé Ice Cream USA in the same year – has grown the company to the second-largest global ice cream manufacturer after Unilever, which is 11th on the 2022 list.
