Arla Foods is a Danish-Swedish dairy cooperative owned by farmers across Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands [1]. The company’s visual identity has undergone two significant transformations since the turn of the millennium, moving from a split red-and-green system to a single unified green mark, and later evolving into a broader brand system built around the “Feed Life” positioning.
Design and History
Before 2008, Arla operated with two separate logos: a green logo used on buildings and vehicles, and a red logo that appeared on consumer products [2]. In Sweden, an additional “Arla cow” mark was also in use, which the company itself described as potentially confusing [3].
In June 2008, Arla announced it would replace both logos with a single new green logo, part of a broader strategic shift toward a “Closer to nature” positioning [4]. The company’s group marketing director, Anne With Damgaard, explained that consumer research showed the green logo had the strongest appeal, and that consolidating to one mark would simplify the brand system [4]. The previous logo change had occurred in 2000, when Arla merged with MD Foods [4].
The new green logo was unveiled on 30 October 2008 and raised on flags at Arla facilities worldwide on 7 November 2008, from Japan and Vietnam to New Jersey and Buenos Aires [1][5]. The rollout to products, tankers and other touchpoints continued through 2009 [2]. The change cost approximately 20 million Danish kroner, significantly less than the roughly 100 million kroner spent on the 2000 rebrand [4].
More recently, Arla introduced a new global positioning, “Feed Life”, and worked with the agency IW Agency to build a unified brand identity and system around it [6]. IW Agency, which has partnered with Arla since 2007, developed the brand system with the logo as its foundation [6]. Trademark filings show new logo marks filed by Arla Foods amba in October 2024 and June 2025, indicating continued evolution of the visual identity [7].
Meaning and Symbolism
The 2008 green logo was explicitly tied to Arla’s “Closer to nature” strategy, which aimed to focus on natural ingredients and reduce additives in products [8]. The company stated it wanted to “build on the natural elements” already present in the business [9]. The choice of green was described by Arla’s IP specialist as being “in tune with the ‘Closer to nature’ slogan” [3].
In the current “Feed Life” brand system, the cloud is described by IW Agency as a “distinct graphical format” that unifies Arla’s products and sub-brands, bringing “associations to natural freshness and a sense of progressive optimism” [6]. The colour palette is designed to mirror the balance of the Arla logo, grounded in nature while energised by “progressive optimism” [6].
Typography and Design
As part of the “Feed Life” brand system, IW Agency evolved Arla’s custom font, Arla Life, to visually connect the logo and cloud elements and act as a distinct brand asset across communications [6]. The agency describes the typeface as “bold and confident, yet humble and optimistic” [6].
Separately, the striped design on Arla’s Swedish milk packaging, a distinct element of the Arla Ko brand, was introduced in 1992 by Swedish designer Tom Hedqvist and remains a visual signature [10]. The stripes signal fat content: thin for low-fat milk, medium for semi-skimmed, and thickest for whole milk [10]. An updated version of this packaging, created by IW Agency, won gold at the Pentawards 2025 competition in the Dairy & Soy-based Products category [10].
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