3. What were the main reasons for Mllers withdrawal from the US market? Was it a wise...

3. What were the main reasons for Müller’s withdrawal from the US market? Was it a wise decision? Molkerei Alois Müller GmbH & Co. KG or Müller is a multinational producer of dairy products with headquarters in the German state of Bavaria. Founded as a family dairy farm in 1896 by Ludwig Müller, today his grandson Theo owns the business. Müller is mostly known for its yogurts, and in this product area it is market leader in Germany and the UK, where its most well-known product is the ‘Müller Corner yogurt’. The name ‘corner’

is in reference to the design of the product.

In 2012, Müller yogurts entered the US market through a joint venture between PepsiCo and Müller. The name of the joint venture is ‘Muller Quaker Dairy’. The Müller Group has subsidiaries in nearby European markets like the UK, Italy and Spain. However, in most export markets outside Europe, Müller mostly uses distributors for selling their yogurts to the grocery retailers in the different countries. One of Müller’s best-selling products in USA is Greek-style yoghurt.

In 2015, the Müller Group achieved a turnover of EURO 5.6 billion and had 27,000 employees.

In December 2015, just two and half years after opening the USD 206 million factory in Batavia, New York, PepsiCo (Quaker) and the Müller Group agreed to count their losses and exit their joint venture Muller Quaker Dairy. The plant was sold to Dairy Farmers of America

(DFA).