Big slice of the action: Fonterra doubles mozzarella production at Clandeboye site

How much mozzarella do you need to top 300 million pizzas a year? Rather a lot, one would imagine. Fonterra’s new mozzarella plant at its Clandeboye site is now up and running, doubling the company’s production of the cheese to produce enough mozzarella for 300 million pizzas each year.

The company has seen growth in consumer and foodservice categories and the expansion of its mozzarella production will form a key part of that success in the future, according to Robert Spurway, Fonterra’s managing director of global operations.

“Foodservice products such as cheese give a high value on return and, thanks to our strength in research and development, we’re able to cut months off the production time of this mozzarella to deliver on our velocity proposition. The additional capacity will bring volume to that equation,” he said.

The site began 24-hour production on 14 May. Twenty-five new roles were created as part of the expansion.

“We’re seeing the popularity of cheese really take off in Asia, so the timing of this upgrade couldn’t be better. To meet orders from that market, we will be producing cheese 24 hours a day, making use of our new lines and taking winter milk from our farmers in Canterbury, Southland and Otago,” said Clandeboye Site Manager Steve McKnight.

As part of its wider strategy to build its foodservice business, Fonterra has not only increased its mozzarella production but also doubled cream cheese production at Te Rapa, commissioned the Waitoa UHT site and plans to expand slice-on-slice cheese capacity at Eltham.

Image caption: Fonterra staff enjoy a pizza made with Clandeboye mozzarella.