Denmark-based PlanetDairy described the move as “a major first for the European retail sector”.

Albert Heijn, the largest grocer in the Netherlands, is launching a line of “hybrid” milks containing dairy and plant-based ingredients.

The retailer, part of the Ahold Delhaize group, has teamed up with Denmark-based PlanetDairy and Dutch business Farm Dairy Netherlands.

PlanetDairy combines traditional dairy ingredients with plants through a precision fermentation process. The milks, sold under the retailer’s AH private label, were made at Farm Dairy Netherlands’ site in the Dutch town of Lelystad.

“At Albert Heijn, we pride ourselves on being pathbreakers in Dutch retail,” Jan de Graaf, the head of the dairy category at Albert Heijn, said.

“The Farm Dairy and PlanetDairy partnership has enabled us to be the first to launch dairy and plant milk blends in the Netherlands.”

Set up by three dairy industry executives in 2022, PlanetDairy has combined dairy ingredients with plants to create its alternative to cheese sold under the Audu brand. The Audu range offers hybrid versions to mozzarella and cheddar, available in block, sliced and grated formats.

Earlier this year, PlanetDairy CEO Jakob Skovgaard told Just Food the company was in talks with retailers to launch more products.

“We first met Albert Heijn in the spring of 2024,” PlanetDairy CTO Dr Paul Cornillon said today (17 June). “We shared the success of our cheese launch in the Nordic markets and approached them with ideas on cheese, milk and yogurt.”

PlanetDairy described the move as “a major first for the European retail sector”.

Skovgaard told Just Food today: “Typically, such a move is led by brands: Arla Milk & Oats, Paquette, Smug Dairy, etc. What makes it pathbreaking is it’s priced at par with the animal equivalent. Usually plant alternatives are priced at a premium which is a major barrier for shoppers. It is also led by a retailer as part of a larger move across meat and dairy. Yesterday, Albert Heijn launched 15 new hybrid products including the two we developed.”

The milks are being sold “nationwide” in the Netherlands at €1.39 ($1.61).

Arend Bouwer, the MD of Farm Dairy Netherlands, said the company was working on more products with PlanetDairy.

“This is just the first step. We are already working on our next project together: yogurt blends,” Bouwer said.