Homemade fresh yogurt brand EasiYo has teamed up with Ornua’s UK-based nutritional ingredients business, Ornua Nutrition Ingredients (ONI) to officially enter into a supply partnership which will see ONI blend and pack Irish dairy powders into the range.

ONI will build a new production facility at its headquarters in Leek, UK, wher the dairy powders will go into the full EasiYo range of natural and flavored yogurt mixes for the UK and European markets. 

EasiYo has a strong following in New Zealand, Australia and the Far East and this will be the first time the homemade fresh yogurt brand has been produced outside of New Zealand, marking what the company describes as a “major step forward” in the brand’s international development. 

With the new supply partnership, EasiYo wants to increase its presence in the UK and Continental Europe and is planning a major business development and marketing drive to increase its distribution and sales. 

Central to this will be an initial five year ‘end-to-end’ partnership between ONI and EasiYo that has seen a joint investment of c. €850,000 to establish the new, blending facility at Leek incorporating new, high-speed, sachet-packing lines.

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with EasiYo on its exciting growth strategy and believe that our new state-of-the art facility here in Leek, together with our expertise in blending, packing and sourcing of high-quality ingredients, will provide strong support for its expansion in the UK and European marketplace,” says Managing Director of Ornua Nutrition Ingredients Alastair Jackson.

“Ornua’s strategic objective is to develop opportunities for the export of Irish dairy products and this important partnership with EasiYo demonstrates that we are making strong progress in developing added value routes to market for high-quality, grass fed Irish milk products.”

The UK and EU markets represent a multi-million euro opportunity for EasiYo to capitalize on the growing consumer trend of making fresh, wholesome, food at home, says Brian Dewar, CEO at EasiYo Products.

“Moving manufacture and supply closer to our key accounts means we can respond to our customers’ needs faster while significantly improving our environmental footprint. With so many similarities between Ornua Nutrition Ingredients and EasiYo, this partnership was a natural fit for our business.”