fairlife Ultrafiltered Milk Coming to Canada

Growing Across Categories and Markets

fairlifeGoes International

Canadians will soon get a taste of fairlife Ultrafiltered Milk as the innovative dairy brand takes its first steps outside the United States.

fairlife was founded by dairy farmers Mike and Sue McCloskey in 2012 as a joint venture between The Coca‑Cola Company and Select Milk Producers.In addition to its high quality and rich, creamy taste, fairlife Ultrafiltered Milk boasts 50% more protein and 50% less sugar than traditional milk and is lactose-free, making it a unique and innovative addition to the Canadian dairy category. The brand will hit stores nationwide later this year.

“We’re thrilled to be adding fairlife Ultrafiltered Milk to Coca‑Cola’s growing and diverse portfolio of beverages here in Canada,” says Shane Grant, president of the Canadian business unit of The Coca‑Cola Company. “This announcement is a significant step in our journey to be a total beverage company and offer Canadians a beverage for every part of their day.”

Investing in Growth

Coca‑Cola will invest $85 million in a new production facility in Peterborough, Ontario, to produce fairlife Ultrafiltered Milk in Fat Free, 2% White and Chocolate and Whole varieties in 1.5 L and 2% White and Chocolate in 240 mL formats. Both will come in PET bottles. The facility, which will start operations in 2020, will be supplied by local Ontario dairy farms.

“It is a long-held belief at Coca‑Cola that we should operate as close to the communities we serve as possible, and we’re very excited to be building a new facility here in Canada,” says Grant. “This investment will allow us to create new jobs, not to mention additional economic benefits for the region through construction and ongoing supplier support.”

Coca‑Cola Canada has been working closely with Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO),who see this as a tremendous opportunity for Ontario farmers and the Canadian dairy industry.

“Introducing fairlife to the Canadian market presents a great opportunity to showcase Ontario dairy farmers’ high-quality milk and animal care practices, which pair well with the premium standards and passion for quality fairlife is known for,” says Graham Lloyd, DFO’s general manager and CEO. “This new initiative will provide significant economic benefits for farmers and the Peterborough community, further showing Canada’s dairy system continues to contribute to the Canadian economy by attracting millions of dollars in processor investments and offering continued and stable growth."

Coca‑Cola Canada has been working closely with Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO), who see this as a tremendous opportunity for Ontario farmers and the Canadian dairy industry.

Driven by Passion and Purpose

Select Milk Producers, a co-op of 99 family-owned farms that was started by Mike and Sue McCloskey in 1994, is driven by a passion to improve the dairy farming process and a desire to produce the most nutritious milk possible.

"It’s really a tremendous opportunity for us to launch fairlife in the Canadian market and introduce Canadians to the fairlife way of living that so many people in the States have discovered and embraced,” said Sue McCloskey. “We’re really excited to get this process started to bring fairlife to Canada and over the next two years get the plant up and running. This is an exciting project that will lead to producing fairlife using Canadian milk –from Canadian dairy farmers–and we’re honoured to be working with the Dairy Farmers of Ontario to make all this cool innovation happen.”