Former bakery chief becomes head of milk business

Müller has stepped down after two years in the driving seat. He will continue to lead Müller’s home delivery business Milk & More as chief executive, becoming co-owner, and will also devote more time to his own family business where he holds board roles.

Jenkins has more than 30 years’ experience in the food industry, most recently with ABF where, over a 15-year career, he led Allied Milling and Baking, its largest food business and branded tea business Twinings. Before that, he worked on the board of alcoholic drinks businesses Bulmers and Halewood and spent 11 years with Mars working across its three UK divisions.

At Allied, in a bakery market with many parallels to the dairy industry and large-scale operational challenges, he championed long-term partnerships with major customers and successfully reduced its cost base to remain competitive in a market suffering from overcapacity and increasingly focused on own-label. As managing director of Twinings UK and Ireland, he led the business through a period of sustained growth to a market leadership position, transforming its financial performance in the process.

'Sustainable future'​

Müller will work with his successor to achieve a smooth transition for the next two months, ensuring that the business continues progressing towards a sustainable future. He said: “A huge amount of work and very tough decisions have and continue to be required. But we are making very good progress and we now see a clear path towards a profitable and sustainable future.​

“I have been deeply impressed and inspired by the relentless effort that our MMI and Müller colleagues have put into this turnaround and I am grateful to have worked with such a dedicated and talented team.​

“I would also like to thank our farmers and customers for their support and their contribution during my time as CEO. Britain’s love of fresh milk is very much alive and well and I believe that it can be secured for future generations if all three parts of the supply chain work together. But there’s still a lot of work to be done. One of the main challenges in the months and years ahead will be to establish the sustainable cost structures required to be successful as a private-label business in the long term.”​

Next chapter​

Jenkins said: “It’s clear that strong progress has been made and that Patrick leaves behind an excellent board and team. I am looking forward to helping my colleagues at MMI to write the next chapter in its journey and, with their continuing commitment, I know that we can secure a profitable and successful future.”​

Müller UK & Ireland said MMI was continuing to make substantial progress towards the completion of its turnaround with a strong board and a collaborative approach with customers and the supply chain. As part of its Project Darwin plan it had secured profitable commercial contracts, adjusted capacity, aligned milk supply to demand and taken out unnecessary cost.

MMI is Britain’s largest producer of branded and private-label fresh milk, cream, butter and ingredients products, with a network of dairies and depots servicing customers throughout the country.