Cremo losses put pressure on Switzerland’s dairy industry

Swiss milk processor Cremo has lost more than 75 million Swiss francs over four years, raising concerns for the wider dairy industry, SRF reports. The company posted a deficit of about 17 million francs in 2025 despite cost-cutting and restructuring measures.

Overproduction, intense competition and low margins on products such as milk powder and butter have weighed on the business for years. Production stoppages caused by ageing equipment and a major fire at a cheese factory added to the difficulties.

Cremo has closed unprofitable sites, simplified production and outsourced parts of its logistics, but the turnaround it hoped for has not yet materialised. The company is working on a new strategy to return to profit.

As Switzerland’s second-largest milk processor after Emmi, Cremo handles about one million litres of milk a day, turning it into drinking milk, cream, butter, cheese and milk powder. Around 1,100 dairy farmers supply the company.

Hansjürg Jäger, a lecturer in agricultural markets at Bern University of Applied Sciences, said Cremo’s large production facilities allow it to process substantial quantities of surplus milk into butter and milk powder. That capacity helps keep the Swiss milk market in balance when production exceeds immediate demand, he said.

Bruno Stirnimann, one of Cremo’s largest suppliers, delivers milk from his farm near Fribourg, which has about 380 cows. He said it would be difficult for a farm of that size to find another processor at short notice, but he remains confident that Cremo’s new strategy can put the company back on a sound financial footing.

Cremo’s challenge is to cut costs on a lasting basis while improving revenue. It remains unclear whether the new strategy will deliver the hoped-for turnaround.