I don’t regularly do groceries, but when I do, I only buy a few things: wine, chips, crackers, cheese, and occasionally, milk. My recent discovery are natural dairy products from Arla Foods, the world’s largest multinational farmer-owned organic dairy company, now in the country.

Arla’s strength is that it’s farmer-owned. “That means we govern the whole value chain—from the raw milk, to the transportation and production facilities. We have 100% control of raw material we use,” says Jens Christian Krog, Arla Foods Senior General Manager for Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand. This not only substantiates Arla’s 100% all-natural claim, it also enables them to consistently optimize and develop farming methods while securing high standards.

Arla started in the 1880s, owned by 12,000 farmers in full-control of the company, from first end to last end of the product line. They make sure the cows are healthy and happy, well-treated and well-fed, so they produce more and the best and healthiest milk. There are only around three to four ingredients in their products to keep it as natural and make it as best as possible.

Arla Milk comes in a family of variants: whole Full Cream UHT Milk 3.5%, semi-skimmed Low Fat UHT Milk 1.5%, skimmed Low-Fat UHT Milk 0.3%, and Organic Full Cream UHT Milk, the first organic full cream cow’s milk introduced in the Philippines, which is just as delicious. I enjoy drinking Arla milk, and I’ve also tried it on cereals, in soups, or as an ingredient in other household favorites.

Also available is the brand’s Lactose Free Full Cream UHT Milk, perfect for those who are lactose intolerant, obviously. The process behind their Lactose-free variant begins by putting an enzyme that breaks down the remaining lactose right after filtering out most of it.

Meanwhile, Arla Natural Cheese Slices come in a variety of flavors you would all like to stock in your ref. Cheese starters will want to enjoy Arla Natural Gouda Slices, which demand 10L of milk to produce, and the only Gouda in the market with no added preservatives, colorants, or additives. Its mild and sweet flavor makes for a light snack that pairs well with bread or for flavoring a meal. A nice addition to your household cheese board is Arla’s Natural Mozzarella Slices. With a signature stretch and a creamy yogurt-aromatic taste, it’s the brand’s recommended cheese for homemade pizza pandesal, grilled cheese sandwiches, and other sandwiches made better with melted mozzarella.

Produced in Allgaü, Germany’s premier cheese-making region (Allgaü is to Emmental as what Parma is to ham), Arla’s Natural Emmental Slices give off that aromatic nutty flavor that’s also delicately spicy. There’s also Arla’s Natural Havarti Slices, the brand’s banner product, a traditional creamy Danish cheese based on a Danish recipe by Hanne Nielsen that dates back to the 1870s.

Arla’s Natural Cream Cheese line is filled hot into its tubs and sealed instantly to preserve that 100% no-preservative, no-additive, no-stabilizer, all-natural goodness. From casual get-togethers to afternoon snacks, Arla’s Herbs and Spice Cream Cheese adds that extra oomph to your toast, crackers, or your cooking’s flavor. Arla’s Lacto-Free Natural Cream Cheese variant, also meant for those who are lactose-intolerant, brings in all the goodness and full flavor of regular plain cream cheese, but without the milk sugar/lactose. Arla’s Natural Light Cream Cheese variant contains the same full flavor but with less fat, perfect for weight-watchers.

I was very intrigued by Arla’s Pineapple Cream Cheese, which has that interesting blend of sweetness and acidity. Its sweetness comes from the juice that was added in the natural way. The variant that rated highest in Filipino taste tests conducted by the brand, Pineapple cream cheese is great for Pinoy desserts or as a delicious spread that’s a lot more natural and free from additives, preservatives, and colorants than most jams, marmalades, and peanut butters in the market today.

 The launch of Arla’s Natural Goodness range was attended by Amanda Griffin-Jacob, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Denmark to the Philippines Jan Top Christensen, Arla Foods Senior General Manager for Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand Jens Christian Krog Nielsen, General Manager for ScanAsia Overseas, Inc. Raymund William Acedera, Stephanie Zubiri-Crespi, Zumba Fitness instructor Tonette Nicolas, Director and Head Instructor of Center for Asian Culinary Studies Gino Gonzalez, player for the Philippine Volcanoes Chris Everingham, and Ministry of Mushrooms co-founder Marco Lobregat.

Bo’s Coffee infuses the bold flavor of its signature brews with Arla’s premium grade dairy. For a limited time, Bo’s mix of espresso beans and flavored syrup got enriched with the natural and nutritional goodness found in Arla’s full cream milk. 

More restaurants are using Arla products now, but we can also buy Arla now from groceries like Rustan’s, Shopwise, Robinsons, SM, and Puregold. Price points are affordable, from P71 to P93 for a carton of milk, depending on the variant.