Arla’s dairy cows hit the Capital

On Wednesday, London commuters were greeted by a herd of cows and dairy farmers as part of a campaign by Arla Foods to raise awareness of how people can support the industry this Christmas.

Londoners were greeted yesterday  by the sight of a herd of white cows branded with the Arla Farmer-Owned Marque on Wednesday. The herd started at Covent Garden then made its way through several underground stations, across the Abbey Road crossing made famous by The Beatles and even took a ride on the London Eye.

The cow parade is the second  in the  series of stunts being undertaken by Arla Foods across the UK to highlight the importance of milk this Christmas and the need for increased support for dairy farmers. The campaign will continue in the lead up to Christmas and will see farmers giving back to the British public, thanking them for the support they’ve already received in a difficult climate.

The ‘White Wednesdays’ campaign draws on research from conducted by YouGov which underlines that the great British public is keen to get behind farmers during this volatile period for milk prices.

The YouGov research also revealed almost two thirds of consumers (60%) say they would pay extra for dairy products and have the money go back to farmers, while seven in ten consumers would prefer to buy their dairy products from a company which is owned by the farmers themselves.

The campaign will also highlight the introduction of the ‘Farmer Owned’ marque on all Arla branded and supermarket own-label dairy products. Arla Foods has introduced the Farmer-Owned Marque on its products to highlight its credentials as the only farmer-owned co-operative that shares profits between all its 12,700 farmers. When consumers purchase any Arla product with the Farmer-Owned Marque displayed they know they are directly supporting the farmers who produced it.

The activity undertaken by the farmers is particularly significant at this time of year as independent research conducted by Arla found that now is the time of year when people buy the most milk and a huge number of festive favourites wouldn’t be possible without the inclusion of milk from dairy farmers.

Milk isn’t the only key ingredient this Christmas with 57% saying they couldn’t face the festivities without a cheeseboard and 54% whose turkeys would be even drier because of no butter.  A third revealed that the they view the drop of milk in their morning brew or a delicious dollop of fresh cream on their mince pie as a magical Christmas dairy moment.

Ash Amirahmadi, head of milk and member services at Arla said: “You might not realise but without milk Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas and we think this is the perfect time of year to be highlighting the role the dairy industry plays in our lives and how lost we would be without it.

People are telling us they want to support dairy farmers but they don’t know the best way to do it so we’re making it as easy as possible but putting a clear mark on all of our products.  Our farmers are getting out there and on the road to tell as many people as possible about the importance of supporting farmers this Christmas.”

The Arla consumer research also revealed:

• Over half (51%) buy just the right amount of milk for Christmas
• Only 4% confessed to panic buying milk at Christmas
• One Christmas tradition is dying as only 15% of people confessed to leaving a glass of milk for Santa
• 80% of Brits use milk mostly for hot drinks during the Christmas holidays
• A third (32%) use milk for custard, a quarter (26%) in trifles and desserts and 23% use it for the bread sauce on the Christmas Day dinner table
• 16% leave a glass of milk for Santa
• Aside from milk, cheese (82%) is the most popular dairy product bought followed by butter (72%), double cream (53%) and yoghurt (48%)
• Over a quarter (26%) described the post dinner cheeseboard as their most magical Christmas Dairy moment