Dairy co-operative Arla is aiming to double its sales via its customers’ online platforms to 600 million euros within the next five years.
Arla has already witnessed a rapid growth in its e-commerce sales during the pandemic, with growth doubling in many key markets during 2020.
The co-op is now harnessing this development as locked-down consumers continue to seek out its dairy products during their online shopping.
Arla said it would now 'supercharge' its existing e-commerce plans 3-5 years ahead of schedule, increasing investments in its online presence.
“We have a clear goal of becoming dairy market leader for e-commerce in Europe and continuing to be a preferred partner for our customers," said Peter Giørtz Carlsen, executive vice president of Arla Europe.
"E-commerce was on the rise in Europe before the Covid-19 crisis and we had been preparing on the technological side and with our customers for some time.
"The pandemic has rapidly changed behaviours towards online channels and this shift represents an opportunity for us to push our e-commerce ambitions forward in the innovation pipeline and the work is well under way."
At the moment, one of Arla’s biggest markets for e-commerce is the UK, where 17 percent of total retail sales come through e-commerce channels.
In the co-op's other European markets, e-commerce makes up a smaller, but growing contribution to overall sales, accounting for around 5-6% of sales in Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands.
