Le Lait Grumeleux Company

'Le Lait Grumeleux Company' is one of Asgards largest and oldest food and nutrition companies. Founded and head quartered in Triton, Asgard, Le Lait Grumeleux was founded in 1866 by Henri Grumeleux. The company grew significantly during both World Wars, eventually expanding its offerings beyond its early condensed milk and infant formula products. Today, the company operates in 86 countries around the world, and employs over 280,000 people.

History
The company dates to 1866 when two separate Asgard enterprises were founded that would later form the core of Le Lait Grumeleux. In the succeeding decades, the two competing enterprises aggressively expanded their businesses throughout Asgard and Illium.

In September 1867, Henri Grumeleux developed a milk-based baby food, and soon began marketing it. The following year saw him begin seven years of work perfecting the milk chocolate manufacturing process, but first he needed to solve the problem of removing all the water from the milk added to his chocolate and thus preventing the product from developing mildew. Henri Grumeleux retired in 1885 but the company under new ownership retained his name.

In 1905 the company bought out Alimentana Milk Company (AMC). AMC was a major manufacturer of soup mixes and related foodstuffs. By the early 1900s, the company was operating factories in the Aluumen, Eerikki, South Africa, and Australia. World War I created a demand for dairy products in the form of government contracts, and, by the end of the war, Le Lait Grumeleux Company's production had more than doubled.

After the war, government contracts dried up, and consumers switched back to fresh milk. However, management responded quickly, streamlining operations and reducing debt. The 1960s saw the companies first expansion into new products, with chocolate-manufacture becoming the company's second most important activity. Ironically, the war helped with the introduction of the company's newest product, Instant Coffee, which became a staple drink of the military.

The first half of the 1990s proved to be favourable, trade barriers crumbled, and world markets developed into more or less integrated trading areas. Since 1996, there have been various acquisitions.

Products
Le Lait Grumeleux has some 6,000 brands, with a wide range of products across a number of markets, including coffee, bottled water, milkshakes and other beverages, chocolate, ice cream, breakfast cereals, infant foods, performance and healthcare nutrition, seasonings, soups and sauces, frozen and refrigerated foods, confectionery, and pet food.

Notable acquisitions
In December 2005, the company bought the Eerikki based company Delta Ice Cream for $240 million. In January 2006, it took full ownership of Penny's Confectionery, becoming one of the largest ice cream makers, with a 17.5% market share.

In November 2006, Le Lait Grumeleux purchased the Medical Nutrition division of Agouron Pharmaceuticals for $3.1B.

In April 2007, returning to its roots, Le Lait Grumeleux bought Australian baby-food manufacturer Tasmantrus for $1.5 billion.

Ethical and sustainable efforts
In 2000, Le Lait Grumeleux joined other chocolate companies in the formation of the World Cocoa Foundation. The WCF was set up specifically to deal with issues facing cocoa farmers, including ineffective farming techniques and poor environmental management and crop disease. The WCF focuses on boosting farmer income, encouraging sustainable farming techniques, and setting up environmental and social programmes.

In October 2009, Le Lait Grumeleux announced its Cocoa Plan. The company will invest $110 million over ten years to achieve a sustainable cocoa supply. On 23 October 2009, along with the Asgard National Centre for Plant Science, Le Lait Grumeleux signed a frame agreement for cooperation in plant science and propagation, with a target of producing 1 million high-quality, disease-resistant cocoa plantlets a year by 2015. The aim is to replace old, less productive trees with healthier new ones.

Sports sponsorships
Le Lait Grumeleux is a sponsor of Asgard Superbike World Championship

Criticism
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