The Biggest Dairy Companies

Published September 30, 2026 · Updated October 3, 2026 · 4 min read

Milk has to be collected every day or two and processed quickly, so dairy farmers depend on a nearby processor. The largest of these turn raw milk into cheese, butter, milk powder, yogurt and infant formula for markets around the world. These were the ten largest by dairy turnover in 2024, according to Rabobank's annual Global Dairy Top 20:

Dairy turnover only, as estimated by Rabobank (Global Dairy Top 20, 2025 edition). In the 2026 edition, the combined turnover of the top 20 reached US$267 billion in 2025, and Lactalis passed US$40 billion after acquisitions including Fonterra's consumer business.

The ten companies in brief

Lactalis

Founded in 1933 in Laval, western France, Lactalis is still owned by the Besnier family. It grew mainly through takeovers - Galbani, Parmalat, Leerdammer - and in March 2026 bought Fonterra's consumer brands such as Anchor and Mainland. Its best-known own brand is Président.

Nestlé

The Swiss food group, founded in 1866 and based in Vevey, has dairy roots in condensed milk and infant food. Its dairy business today centres on milk powders such as Nido, infant formula and coffee creamers; much of it is sold in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Dairy Farmers of America

Formed in 1998 from the merger of four cooperatives, DFA is based in Kansas City, Kansas, and owned by thousands of US dairy farms. It markets a large share of US milk and became one of the largest US milk processors after buying most of Dean Foods' plants in 2020.

Danone

Danone traces back to a yogurt shop opened in Barcelona in 1919 and is today listed in Paris. Besides yogurts such as Activia it sells plant-based drinks (Alpro, Silk), infant formula (Aptamil) and bottled water (Evian).

Yili

Based in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, and listed in Shanghai, Yili is China's largest dairy company. It sells packaged milk, yogurt drinks, milk powder and ice cream across China and has expanded into Southeast Asia and New Zealand.

Arla Foods

Arla is a cooperative based near Aarhus in Denmark, formed in 2000 from Danish and Swedish dairies. On 1 June 2026 it merged with Germany's largest dairy cooperative DMK; together they have about 11,200 farmer-owners in seven countries and Europe's largest milk pool. Brands include Arla, Lurpak and Castello.

Fonterra

Formed in 2001 and owned by New Zealand's dairy farmers, Fonterra is the world's largest exporter of dairy products such as milk powder and butter, and its Global Dairy Trade auctions set reference prices for the industry. After selling its consumer brands to Lactalis in 2026 it concentrates on ingredients for other food companies.

FrieslandCampina

The Dutch cooperative, formed in 2008 and based in Amersfoort, merged with Belgium's Milcobel on 1 January 2026. It is now supplied by almost 11,000 member farms in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and sells brands such as Friesche Vlag and Campina as well as infant-nutrition ingredients.

Saputo

Founded in Montreal in 1954 by the Italian-born Saputo family and listed in Toronto, Saputo is one of the world's largest cheese makers. It also has dairies in the US, Argentina, Australia and the UK.

Mengniu

Founded in 1999 in Hohhot and listed in Hong Kong, Mengniu is China's second-largest dairy company; the state food group COFCO is its largest shareholder. Its brands include Milk Deluxe and the yogurt brand Yoyi C.

Cooperatives and investor-owned companies

Four of the ten - Dairy Farmers of America, Arla Foods, Fonterra and FrieslandCampina - are cooperatives owned by the farmers who supply them. They pay their members a milk price derived from what the cooperative earns, so their results pass fairly directly to the farm gate. Lactalis is family-owned, while Nestlé, Danone, Yili, Saputo and Mengniu are listed companies that buy milk under contracts.

Why a few companies lead

Scale matters for collecting milk across whole regions, running large powder and cheese plants and selling into export markets. Much of world trade in dairy consists of storable powders and butter from New Zealand, the EU and the US; Fonterra's Global Dairy Trade auctions are a widely watched price signal for them. China's Yili and Mengniu grew with their home market to join the top ten.

What it means for milk prices

The milk price a farmer receives depends on how the processor uses the milk: butter and powder prices react fast to world markets, cheese and branded products more slowly. That is why EU farm-gate prices, shown on the milk page, move with butter and milk powder with a delay of a few months, as explained in Dairy Markets.