Albert Heijn‘s largest dairy supplier, Royal A-ware, is expanding in Belgium with the acquisition of milk producer Olympia. A-ware has also acquired the milk powder divisions of FrieslandCampina and Hollebeekhoeve in the country.
Challenging the Belgian market
Royal A-ware, Albert Heijn’s main supplier of cheese and milk, is continuing its offensive in Belgium: after two acquisitions within a year, the Dutch dairy processor now wants to buy the Olympia milk processor. A-ware would take over all shares from the current owner, the Van Impe family, according to Belgian newspaper De Tijd. The transaction awaits the approval of the market authority.
Last year, Royal A-ware also took over the Belgian milk powder division of FrieslandCampina, as well as the company Hollebeekhoeve when it went bankrupt. With the takeover of Olympia, the Dutch are switching gear: in 2021, the dairy company achieved a turnover of 95 million euros by collecting around 100 million litres of milk from 165 Belgian milk producers. The former family business processes milk into a variety of products, from supermarket milk to ice cream.A-ware is also considering building its own cheese factory in Belgium, although these plans are not yet concrete. The Dutch company, which has a turnover of around 1.8 billion euros, wants to take on the leading Belgian industry players like Milcobel and Inex.
