Petrou Bros Dairy Products is a renowned and successful producer of Cypriot dairy products, founded in 1982. Since then, the company has operated with the stated mission of providing high-quality products that exceed a customer’s expectations and ensure a safe and healthy environment for employees. Hannah Barnett spoke to Commercial Manager Michalis Petrou to find out more.
The last five years have been busy at Petrou Bros. The company has opened two new production lines as well as ramping up its investment into green energy.
The first of these developments involves a new 6,000 square metre production, packaging and logistics area for halloumi cheese. “We have doubled the size of the factory; we now have 15,000 square meters just for the production of our
signature halloumi,” Commercial Manager Michalis Petrou said.
The second expansion pertains to the new filling lines, pasteurisation line and automation for fresh milk and fresh juice. This is a €10 million investment into a stateof-the-art factory and is fitted out to a high standard of EU-approved technology.
Petrou Bros continues to dominate the market, with a 35% share in authentic halloumi cheese production, which is
exported to 40 countries. The company now produces more than 80 million litres of milk and more than 10,000 tonnes of halloumi. This success is supported by 270 employees and a turnover that exceeds €100 million.
New ventures
In March 2023, the organisation opened a new production line for fresh milk, under its Alambra brand. With 40 years of tradition, experience, and know-how behind it – as well as a leading position in the field of processing fresh milk for cheese making – the company is able to guarantee the quality and freshness of the milk. It now offers goat’s and cow’s milk at a range of fat percentages, alongside natural juices, plant-based milks and other beverages.
“This fresh milk production line is especially for the local Cypriot market,” said Mr Petrou. “We offer fresh milk on a daily
basis. We have been producing different dairy products like cheeses and yoghurts for the past 40 years and the only thing we didn’t produce was fresh milk. So, we have the opportunity now. Alambra is a unique brand that can offer a whole range of dairy products.”
Petrou Bros is also channelling investment into green energy and has recently installed solar panels onto its facilities, as well as purchasing an innovative biogas plant.
“Based on current estimations, we are covering about 50 per cent of the total demand of energy from our solar panels, because Cyprus is an extremely sunny island,” Mr Petrou explained.
“The biogas plant allows us to process waste and create biogas for the energy of the factory. And we have also been investing in a central cooling system, using ammonia, which will have a zeropollution effect.”
Global success, local spirit
Despite its worldwide presence and success, Petrou Bros Dairy Products is a proud local company. “As we are an island, we cannot import any milk,” said Mr Petrou. “The milk we process and sell is 100 per cent Cypriot. Each litre of this milk is collected from Cypriot producers, and we use it in our cheese-making process too.”
The halloumi made by Petrou Bros is a protected designation of origin product, as set out by the EU. This means it must be produced in a certain way, in a specific area, using traditional methods.
“We have to follow the procedures and standards that the government gets from the EU,” Mr Petrou explained. “Our halloumi cheese must be made with 100 per cent local milk, and there is a minimum
percentage of sheep’s and goats’ milk that you have to use in a cheese to call it halloumi. There are also various other production procedures and parameters that must be met, and we do so proudly.”
Like any successful company, it is vital that Petrou Bros maintains a strong relationship with its supply chain. The company has 400 milk suppliers spread across Cyprus and uses its own fleet of trucks to collect milk daily.
“Then we do a quality check for each batch of milk that we receive at the factory,” said Mr Petrou. “So, it’s very important to have transparent and direct communication with our suppliers. We are a family-owned business; therefore, it is vital that we maintain the personal touch with our supply chain. The key to our success is that we are transparent and fair, and we expect the same back.”
The company remains active in the community in many other ways also, by running multiple Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. For example, Petrou Bros recently partnered with the charity Goal in Life, helping to fund the renovation of the paediatric ward of Archbishop Makarios III Hospital in Cyprus.
“We also work with supermarkets, and we agree that for each litre of milk we sell, a percentage of the income will be donated to a charity,” Mr Petrou explained. “It is not a fixed figure: each period we agree to run the campaign with a different supermarket chain, with a percentage of the income to be donated to a different charity.”
Continuing the legacy
Going forward, Petrou Bros looks set to maintain its leading position for halloumi cheese production and to continue
promoting the delicious, traditional, Cypriot cheese worldwide. This is alongside the backdrop of an unstable global market, in which all companies are to some extent impacted by various wars and rising costs.
For Mr Petrou, however, the challenges are to be expected when inheriting the reins of a well-loved family business. Petrou Bros is a company he has grown up with and one he knows inside-out.
“I am second generation,” he said “and I started getting involved in the family business from 10 years old. So, all of us in the family know the business really well and we know how to produce efficiently and how to promote what we do successfully It is our company.
“I love what I do. Therefore, it’s very important to maintain and improve the level of success for the next generation by continued investment. The key to success for me at the Alambra organisation is to keep the passion for the business by always focusing on the next thing.” n
