André Besnier

Lactalis

Type	Private
Industry	Dairy products
Predecessor	la société Besnier
Founded	1933; 85 years ago (1933)
Founder	André Besnier
Headquarters	Laval, Mayenne, France
Key people	Emmanuel Besnier, CEO
Products	Cheese, butter, milk
Revenue	€16.5 billion (2015)
Owner	Besnier family via Belgium-based holding company BSA International SA
Number of employees	75,000
Website	lactalis.fr/en/

Lactalis is a multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. It is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the second largest food products group in France, behind Danone. It owns brands such as Galbani, Société, Bridel, Parmalat, Président, Skånemejerier, Rachel's Organic, Valmont, and Stonyfield Farm.

André Besnier started a small cheesemaking company in 1933 and launched its Président brand of Camembert in 1968. In 1990, it acquired Group Bridel (2,300 employees, 10 factories, fourth-largest French dairy group) with a presence in 60 countries. In 1992, it acquired United States cheese company Sorrento. In 1999, la société Besnier became le groupe Lactalis owned by Belgium-based holding company BSA International SA. In 2006, they bought Italian group Galbani, and in 2008, bought Swiss-based cheese maker Baer. In 2011, they bought Italian group Parmalat out of bankruptcy. In 2013, the Sorrento and Precious brands in the US were renamed Galbani, and the Sorrento Lactalis division was renamed Lactalis American Group.

In 2007, the French Institut National des Appellations d'Origine, which administers AOC (L'appellation d'origine contrôlée) designations for French food products, refused to permit Lactalis and the dairy cooperative, Isigny-Sainte-Mère, to sell pasteurized Camembert as "true Camembert". These two companies, as of 2007, represented between 80 and 90% of Normandy Camembert sales.