A Journey Towards Sustainable Dairy Production

Yeo Valley, Britain’s largest organic dairy brand, has long been committed to innovation, sustainability, and quality. As part of its strategy to enhance production efficiency and reduce operational costs, Yeo Valley has leveraged the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) programme in collaboration with leading UK universities, Cardiff University (2012) and University of Reading (2021). Through two distinct partnerships focusing on sustainability and lean management, Yeo Valley has set new standards for sustainable practices within the dairy industry.

Yeo Valley  has a vision to nurture and nourish both people and planet, to be achieved by delivering healthy, nutrient dense, widely affordable, whole foods derived from agricultural sources which positively contribute to environmental and ecological sustainability.

To meet this goal Yeo Valley recognised the need for advanced expertise in lean manufacturing and food sciences to ensure it is able to apply best industry practice in efficiency, productivity and sustainability to ensure competitive product pricing alongside applying the latest scientific thinking in agricultural practice and nutrition.

Key challenges included:

• Reducing production times and operational costs.
• Minimising waste in ingredient use and production processes.
• Embedding sustainable practices across its production facilities.

Creating a meaningful evaluation framework

Yeo Valley’s approach to KTPs included two separate projects: one focused on sustainability and the other on lean management, each with distinct performance metrics and goals.

Cardiff Business School’s “Better Than Ever” Project (Lean Management): This initiative was centred around embedding lean manufacturing principles to optimise production processes. Key components included:

• Establishing a Continuous Improvement Team certified in Training Within Industry (TWI).
• Streamlining production to reduce manufacturing times and costs.
• Training over 150 staff to ensure sustainable improvements.

University of Reading Partnership (Sustainability): This project concentrated on ingredient optimisation, waste reduction, and improvements in sustainability. The primary measures of success included:

• Enhanced ingredient efficiency to reduce waste.
• Sustainability-focused changes leading to reduced environmental impacts.
• Improvements in overall production efficiency that contributed to cost savings and sustainability goals.

The outcomes of these partnerships were far-reaching:

• Operational efficiency: The lean management project led to reduced production times and costs, contributing to Yeo Valley’s competitive advantage.
• Waste reduction and sustainability: The sustainability-focused project enhanced ingredient use, minimised waste, and reinforced Yeo Valley’s commitment to environmental stewardship.
• Staff development: Training programs from both KTPs equipped over 150 staff members with lean methodologies and sustainable practices, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• Standardisation of practices: The projects resulted in more consistent processes across production sites, strengthening operational resilience.

Yeo Valley’s success has become a model for the UK dairy industry, demonstrating how lean methodologies and sustainability efforts can complement each other to drive growth. The partnerships also provided valuable real-world experience for students at Cardiff Business School and the University of Reading, preparing them to lead future innovations in sustainable food production.

Yeo Valley’s experience with KTPs showcases how collaboration between industry and academia can drive innovation, operational efficiency, and sustainability. These partnerships, focusing on lean management and sustainability, have positioned Yeo Valley as a leader in sustainable dairy production, highlighting the transformative power of KTPs in creating lasting change. Yeo Valley’s ongoing commitment to these partnerships, including its second  KTP with Reading University to enhance the yoghurt shelf life, continues to set a benchmark for UK food production and sustainability.