Carmen’s Best (The Laguna Creamery Inc), the premium dairy subsidiary of Metro Pacific Agro Ventures, launched its fresh milk line on 22 January 2025. The fresh milk range of Carmen’s Best, known for its ice cream, will include Whole Milk, Low Fat Milk, Chocolate Milk, Salted Caramel Milk and Barista Fresh Milk. This launch follows the rebranding of Holly’s Milk, the pasteurised milk brand under the Carmen’s Best Group.
With their newly established dairy facility in Bukidnon, Mindanao, which the brand recently acquired, the company is now equipped to effectively serve the Visayas and Mindanao markets. To increase its local dairy production, Carmen’s Best has acquired the Universal Harvesters Dairy Farm in Marama, Bukidnon, adding to its existing operations in Bay, Laguna.
In a dairy market where UHT and powdered milk are prevalent, Carmen’s Best carves out its space in the niche fresh milk segment. The brand is able to support the fresh milk operation using milk sourced from its dairy farms.
Carmen’s Best aims to have a full line of milk, yogurt, ice cream, cheese and butter by 2027.
In another develoment, Metro Pacific Dairy Farms (MPDF), a joint venture between Metro Pacific Agro Ventures Inc and LR Group Ltd., aims to increase raw fresh milk production to 10 million liters by 2027, up from 1 million litres in 2024, according to Metro Pacific Agro Ventures’s CEO Jovy Hernandez. This follows their 2022 partnership to build a PHP 2 billion dairy facility in Bay, Laguna. Operation is set to commence in 2025.
Key takeaways: developing local milk production is a viable approach
