The Molkerei Berchtesgadener Land dairy was established in 1927. We are organised as a cooperative and belong entirely to the affiliated farmers – some 1,500 in number. Their farms lie along the Alpine ridge between the Watzmann and Zugspitze mountains.
Since our inception, we have been committed to responsible business with respect to cattle, nature and consumers. Our origins are important to us, and we are guided by values such as sustainability and fairness.
Our dairy’s management board and supervisory board contain elected farmer representatives. They decide on all important issues together with the management team. Meetings to review the current market situation and necessary investments are held each month. At both levels, all board members are active dairy farmers.
In the cooperative model, there are credible efforts to pursue issues of origin, sustainability and fairness. People know each other and talk to each other, offering advice and discussing topics.
Our cooperative is fully owned by around 1,600 farmers. Their farms have 30 cows an average. As small businesses, they help to maintain the cultural landscape of the Alpine region.
Our core values include gentle milk processing methods, protecting natural habitats in and around the Alps, and paying fair milk prices to small family businesses.
Total
Mountain farmers
Conventional farmers
Organic farmers
Founding year
Million kg of raw milk
Employees
including fresh service
€ million turnover
including fresh service
First organic dairy in Bavaria
Million kg of raw organic milk
Trainees
Sales countries
We use environmentally friendly packaging.
Reusable bottles and two-part pots are part of our standard range. It almost goes without saying that we choose not to work with PET bottles. In 2017, we also began using bio-based cardboard packaging made from renewable raw materials.
It is guaranteed that our farmers do not use genetically engineered feed or glyphosate.
Our farmers abstain from using total herbicides. They manage their farms using natural, sustainable methods. In this way, they are able to preserve a variety of grasses and herbs.
Agriculture without animals? That’s unimaginable here in the Alpine region.
89 per cent of the land farmed by our farmers is grassland, which can only be used effectively for food production through livestock farming. Furthermore, permanent grassland stores 588 billion tonnes of CO₂, which is more than forests and arable land combined.
Source: Bodenatlas 2015
Using modern technology, we save water, packaging and other resources.
Over the last six years, we have managed to reduce fuel consumption for milk collection by 22 per cent. We did so by optimising route planning and changing our fleet to state-of-the-art Mercedes Benz and MAN commercial vehicles.
We are efficient with resources in our work and use environmentally friendly energy.
For example, we use waste heat from our production facilities to heat buildings and tap water. To generate electricity, we have had our own power supply centre built on the dairy farm that delivers combined heat and power.
Wir unterstützen Projekte zum Schutz von Insekten und gesunden Böden.
Wir fördern das Projekt "Wild und Kultiviert" zur Erhaltung von Blühwiesen und halten auf unserem Gelände zwei Bienenvölker, die wir selber betreuen. Zudem haben wir eine regionale Blühsamenmischung zur Grünlandanreicherung entwickelt, gemeinsam mit der UNESCO Biosphärenregion Berchtesgadener Land.
We support projects to protect insects and healthy soil.
We have given our backing to the "Wild and Cultivated" project to conserve flowering meadows, and we keep two bee colonies on our premises, which we look after ourselves. We have also developed a regional flowering mix to enrich grassland environments in cooperation with the UNESCO Berchtesgadener Land Biosphere Reserve.
Our milk comes from small, family-run farms in the Alpine region between the Watzmann, the Wilder Kaiser and the Zugspitze.
They are all members of the dairy’s cooperative. Ingredients such as salt and muesli are also supplied to us by partners from the region.
We have also been processing organic Alpine milk since 1973, making us Germany’s first organic dairy.
Around 500 farmers (400 Naturland, 100 Demeter) supply us with their organically produced milk. This means that 33 per cent of all the cooperative’s member farms are certified organic. With approximately 120 million kilograms of organic milk collected each year, we are also one of the largest organic dairies in Germany.
Our farming families have lived in harmony with nature and their animals for centuries.
This is also evident in the 140 active alpine pastures managed by our co-operative dairy, which make a significant contribution to the preservation of the cultural landscape.
We recognise the work of our farmers by paying them a reliable – and therefore fair – price for their milk.
We safeguard the livelihoods of our cooperative farms and preserve the unique cultural landscape of the mountain region.
Independent certification bodies monitor the fair trade of our ingredients.
The main ingredient in our organic and fair trade products is, of course, our organic milk from the 400 Naturland farms in our co-operative. Other fair trade raw materials include cocoa, bananas, mangoes, chocolate chips and beet sugar from southern Germany.
We were the first dairy in Germany to be certified Naturland Fair.
Part of our product range has been awarded the Naturland Fair label by the Naturland farming association since 2010.
We work together with Pidinger Werkstätten GmbH, run by the Berchtesgadener Land branch of Lebenshilfe.
Pidinger Werkstätten provides specialist assistance to people with disabilities. They receive systematic, individual and reflected support to develop skills.
We care about staff development and satisfaction in our dairy.
Our employees are all on permanent contracts. The average length of service is 12 years. With a varied health management strategy, an active idea management system and an intensive junior staff programme, we are one of the most popular employers in the region.
We invite customers to see what goes on behind the scenes and are clear and honest in our reports.
We regularly show groups of visitors around our company on guided tours. Here we explain the origin of our milk and our production methods.
The outstanding quality of our milk specialties has received multiple awards in recent years.
Consumer watchdog Stiftung Warentest has already awarded us several times for a high level of corporate social responsibility and the quality of our products.
Our efforts to run a responsible and sustainable business were rewarded in 2018 with the German Sustainability Award in the category for medium-sized companies.
Our milk contains a high level of healthy omega-three fatty acids. This has been demonstrated in studies carried out by the Universities of Kassel (2006) and Jena (2013).
The organic label identifies high-quality products from organic farms. It guarantees that organic goods are subject to controls during cultivation and production in accordance with the EC Organic Regulation. Inspection body: DE-ÖKO-037.
The Demeter trademark is a guarantee of high-quality products from biodynamic farms. A far cry from chemicals and monoculture, Demeter farmers hold to natural cycles. In doing so, they promote the natural processes of living beings and healthy soil.
The guidelines of Naturland are clear and strict, guaranteeing food of organic quality. Organic feed and animal welfare are just as essential as the rejection of chemical and synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and mineral fertilisers. Genetic engineering of any form is ruled out completely.
The Naturland Fair logo guarantees fair cooperation with producers, trading partners, employees and consumers.
Our integrated quality management system complies with the International Food Standard (IFS).
The name QM-Milch translates as ‘Milk Quality Management’. It was developed in 2002 as a standardised quality management system for German milk production. Independent auditors check for compliance with 55 criteria.
All our farmers use traditional feeding methods. In addition to our organic farmers, all other members have been committed to GM-free feed since 2010.
As an official partner of the Berchtesgadener Land biosphere region, we operate with respect for people and nature. We contribute to maintaining the Berchtesgadener Land as a sustainable living, economic and recreational area and to establishing it as a model region for sustainable development.
With the European environmental management system in accordance with EMAS, we are committed to systematic operational environmental protection. This is reviewed annually by an independent auditor.
We are certified in accordance with the international SEDEX (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange) standard. This involves auditing the areas of working conditions, health & safety, the environment and business ethics.
