CREDITON Dairy Limited, the leading independent dairy drinks producer, has published its report and accounts for the 52 week period ending January 3, 2026.

While it announces lower profits in 2025 due to challenging dairy markets, it sets out plans for further investment and growth.

Against a challenging market backdrop, the results demonstrate the business continued to perform satisfactorily.

It says that the story of 2025 was one of ever-growing milk volumes, this matched by some strong and stable milk prices.

In the second half of the year milk volumes also grew in the EU which led to reductions firstly in cream returns and then in the farmgate milk price, in both the EU and UK.

A tanker in front of a part of the Crediton Dairy factory. AQ 5486
A tanker in front of a part of the Crediton Dairy factory. AQ 5486 (Alan Quick, Crediton Courier)

Despite this, Crediton Dairy still paid an average standard litre price of 43.60ppl during 2025.

Given this complex and challenging market environment the business performed well financially with turnover of £137.6 million, £6.3 million higher than the prior year (2024: £131.3 million).

This reflected a continued improvement in the product mix of sales to UK retailers together with higher sales volumes of bulk milk and cream.

The business generated a profit for the financial period of £7.0 million (2024: £10.4 million), the decrease largely reflecting the fact that milk prices did not fall to reflect the weaker dairy markets until late in the year and the very strong cream prices witnessed in the prior year were not sustained in 2025 as cream supply moved ahead of market demand particularly in the second half of the year.

Net assets grew by £3.8 million to £58.0 million (2024: £54.2 million).

The results reflect continuing strong sales performance and improved mix of the growing range of own label flavoured and functional milks and branded dairy drinks made at the Dairy.

The latter includes Arctic Coffee; the second largest iced coffee brand sold in British supermarkets; the fast-growing Pro Mlk range which is the No.1 Protein Shake brand in British Supermarkets in terms of unit share and the No.2 in value terms; and Biocol the only cholesterol lowering white milk available in the UK.

Sales of own label lactose free milk products made at the Dairy have also increased strongly.

Having invested £44.9 million since the MBO in 2013, Crediton Dairy undertook further capital investment of £3.2 million in 2025 which amongst other projects included increasing the processing and filling capacity.

Tim Smiddy. (Crediton Dairy)

In the current year Crediton Dairy is investing a further £5.4 million to increase further both the capacity and capability of the Dairy, as well as upgrading the site’s utilities.

Commenting on the prospects for the business, Tim Smiddy, Crediton Dairy Managing Director said: “In the light of the ongoing strong demand for our growing portfolio of functional and flavoured dairy drinks we are continuing to invest in the Dairy’s capacity and capabilities.

“This reflects the fact that we remain very positive about the long-term outlook for the dairy sector and the role that Crediton Dairy is playing as an independent, highly focused, added value, British business within it.”