Arla Foods has appointed executive Matthew Walker to head up its Foodservice division, as it seeks to ramp up its wholesale food and catering division.

Walker, who will join the dairy cooperative’s UK leadership team in January 2026, will be tasked with building on its existing customer base and forging new partnerships across areas such as sustainability, innovation and product development.

Walker brings 14 years of experience across Arla, having held senior roles spanning innovation and brand development in both local and global teams.

He joins the UK business from his current role as head of marketing for Arla Sweden, where he played a key role in strengthening brand performance and driving category growth over the past four years.

Foodservice is one of Arla’s largest channels outside retail, supplying milk, butter and cheese to restaurants, coffee shops and quick-service operators nationwide through brands including Arla Pro.

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The appointment comes as Arla’s UK Foodservice business continues to gather momentum. In the first half of 2025, the division posted revenue rose 15% year on year (€29m / £24m), with branded, volume-led revenue increasing 7.6%.

“Matthew’s appointment is a great step forward for our UK business and we’re excited to welcome him to the team,” Arla Foods UK managing director Bas Padberg.

“His deep understanding of Arla, combined with his strong commercial experience and passion for building relationships, will be key as we continue to grow our Foodservice presence, deliver value for our partners and provide quality dairy to the hospitality and catering sector.”

Walker added: “Foodservice is one of the most dynamic and fast-moving parts of our industry.

“We have a lot of exciting innovations and milestones in the near future that will allow us to deliver the best ingredients and dairy products to our customers.

“Whether this is the new mozzarella investment at our Taw Valley site, or the continued innovations across our well-known brands, I am excited about helping to create the future for British Dairy”.