Mainland is New Zealand's best-known cheese brand, built on advertising about aged cheddar and the patience it requires, with a tagline promising good things take time. Fonterra named the whole divested consumer business Mainland Group after it, and sold that group to Lactalis in 2026.
Fonterra sold its entire global consumer business to Lactalis, agreeing the sale in August 2025 for NZ$3.845 billion and completing it on 31 March 2026; resolving a separate dispute with Bega Cheese took total proceeds to NZ$4.22 billion. It moved a century of New Zealand household dairy brands, Anchor and Mainland among them, to a French family company in a single transaction, and turned Fonterra into a business-to-business supplier that now sells milk and ingredients to the buyer of its own brands under agreements running at least ten years. Fonterra kept the Anchor consumer brand in Greater China.
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Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Mainland?
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The parent company of Mainland is Lactalis, a family-owned company headquartered in France.
Is Mainland New Zealand or French?
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Mainland originated in New Zealand in 1954, but it is owned today by Lactalis, which is headquartered in France. So Mainland is a New Zealand-origin brand under French ownership.
When did Lactalis buy Mainland?
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Lactalis completed its acquisition of Mainland on 31 March 2026, after announcing the deal on 22 August 2025. The deal was valued at NZ$3.85 billion (enterprise value).
Is Mainland still owned by Lactalis?
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Yes. As of 16 September 2026, Mainland is still owned by Lactalis. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (3) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
[1]Lactalis — our brands — Groupe Lactalis, Official document; retrieved 16 September 2026.