Tara (Israeli Dairy Company)

The cooperative formally known as "Tara Agricultural Cooperative Association in Nahalat Yitzhak" was founded in 1942 by seven dairy farmers from Nahalat Yitzhak, a neighborhood in what is now Tel Aviv.[1] Their initial purpose was to market fresh drinking milk throughout Tel Aviv, and the cooperative's founding goals included securing a regular milk supply, improving production and marketing conditions, and creating a stable economic base for its farmer members.[4]

The cooperative's founding members purchased a 56-dunam farm in Nahalat Yitzhak, acquired machinery, and began regular production of fresh dairy products.[1] As surplus milk accumulated, the dairy expanded into additional product lines, and the cooperative grew by bringing in 63 more dairy farmers from around the country.[1] Distribution networks, sales points, and the factory itself were expanded, along with the purchase of new pasteurization machines and more advanced production systems.[1]

A company account describes Tara's development in distinct stages: a modern dairy and a transition to pasteurized milk in sealed bottles in the 1950s; expanded production lines and advanced technology introduced in the 1980s and 1990s; its acquisition by the Central Bottling Company in 2004; and the opening of a new dairy in Netivot in 2014.[4] Good Taste cheese is among the company's long-running products.[4]

In July 2004, Tara's cooperative members approved the sale of the dairy to the Central Bottling Company, Israel's Coca-Cola franchisee, for $37 million.[5] The original owners were farmers from Nahalat Yitzhak and their heirs; as part of the transaction, the buyer also assumed approximately $9 million in dairy obligations, and an additional NIS 40 million was paid in compensation to external distributors whose contracts were terminated.[5][2] At the time of the sale, Tara was Israel's third-largest dairy, with annual sales of $125 million, roughly 600 employees, and a 12–14% share of the Israeli dairy-products market.[5][2]

The transaction did not include Tara's stake in Ramat Hagolan Dairies, and the company was set to operate as an independent entity while certain distribution and operational activities were merged with the broader parent group.[2] Central Bottling Company entered the dairy market partly to counter declining soft-drink sales amid a growing consumer health trend.[6] In February 2026, Tara was identified as owned by Central Bottling Company, while products continued to be marketed under the Tara name.[7][8]

For decades, Tara operated out of a dairy on its original site in Nahalat Yitzhak. By the early 2010s, that facility was running at full capacity, producing just over 200 million liters of milk annually.[9] In 2014, Tara officially opened a new dairy near Netivot in the northern Negev.[8] The facility was built on an 80-dunam site in the N.E.M. industrial park.[10][9] The company describes it as among the most advanced dairies in the Middle East, though that characterization is Tara's own.[8]

The Netivot dairy was built with a modular design intended to allow production lines to expand over time, and it positioned Tara to compete more aggressively across major categories including milk, yellow cheese, cottage cheese, white cheese, and sour cream.[9] The facility receives approximately 280 million liters of raw milk each year, while Tara works with more than 130 milk producers across Israel; about half of its milk comes from kibbutz dairies and half from moshav dairies.[4][1] The workforce numbers hundreds of people in roles including development, marketing, engineering, food technology, transport, sales, and logistics.[4]

Tara's product range spans milk, white cheeses, baking cheeses, desserts, and creams, as well as milk beverages and the Noam cheese line.[8] The Noam line is marketed as preservative-free, and Tara introduced milk drinks without added sugar in 2015.[10]

In 2017, Tara recorded sales of NIS 1.35 billion, 7% above 2016, and sold 286 million liters of product that year, achieving a 19.1% share of the milk market.[11] The company's targets for 2018 included sales of 310 million liters and a 20.1% market share.[11] Its brand portfolio at that time included Tara, Zuriel, and Müller.[11]

More recent figures present a more complex picture. At the end of 2025, Tara held approximately 9.4% of the total monetary dairy-products market, which by that point had reached NIS 11.7 billion in annual sales.[7] In 2023, Tara was identified as Israel's second-largest milk-processing company, while a 2025 report listed it alongside Tnuva, Strauss, and Golan Heights Dairies as one of the sector's principal producers.[3][12] In the regulated-milk segment specifically, Tara held approximately 15% of the market as of early 2025, and the company has stated that around 40% of the raw milk it processes goes into price-regulated products.[13][7]

A significant early step in Tara's post-acquisition international strategy was a franchise and know-how agreement signed with German dairy producer Müller, giving Tara the exclusive right to produce and market Müller products in Israel along with access to Müller's manufacturing and product-development expertise.[14] The agreement was signed by Müller representatives, Tara CEO Zeev Kalimi, Central Bottling Company president Ronny Kobrovsky, and company chairman Muzi Wertheim, with Tara planning to launch Müller yogurts and delicacies by the end of 2007.[14] Kalimi described the partnership as giving Tara "advanced technological knowledge in development and particularly in product innovation."[14] A 2023 retrospective states that Tara received the franchise to operate the Müller brand in Israel in 2008.[10]

In 2021, Central Bottling Company agreed to invest up to $2 million in BioMilk, an Israeli food-tech company developing cultured-milk products, with BioMilk's outputs intended to be transferred to Tara for pilot commercial production after research and development.[15] That same year, Tara invested $2 million in Wilk, another Israeli cultured-milk startup, as part of an agreement to develop products using Wilk's technology; Central Bottling Company subsequently participated in Wilk's 2023 funding round.[3]

In 2022, Tara's parent company signed a ten-year cooperation agreement with Remilk, under which Remilk would produce milk protein using its precision-fermentation technology, Central Bottling Company would receive it, and Tara would manufacture final products such as dairy drinks, yogurts, and semi-hard cheeses.[16] Tara was expected to begin marketing most of those products within a year of the agreement, though these were described as plans and projected timelines at the time of reporting.[16]

Following October 7, 2023, Tara faced staff shortages caused by military reserve call-ups, logistical disruptions, and difficulties collecting milk from farms across Israel.[4] Despite these pressures, the Netivot dairy continued operating, supplying both retail consumers and security institutions.[4] Tara also partnered with Netivot Municipality during this period to distribute food to elderly residents, evacuees, and security forces in the area.[4]

In March 2016, the Palestinian Authority cabinet signed a resolution banning imports of goods made by five Israeli food manufacturers — Tnuva, Strauss, Tara, Soglowek, and Jafora-Tabori — into Palestinian markets.[17] The boycott followed an Israeli Ministry of Agriculture decision to restrict goods from five Palestinian food manufacturers from reaching East Jerusalem markets.[18] Three weeks after that order was issued, Israel's High Court of Justice revoked it, and the Palestinian boycott of the Israeli companies ended.[18] Palestinian sources claimed the boycott caused losses of millions of shekels to the affected Israeli companies, while a broader industry-level analysis estimated that boycott-related damage to Israeli food manufacturing was less than 0.5% of total industry revenue; neither figure is specific to Tara.[18]

In 2026, the Israel Competition Authority announced a proposed financial sanction of NIS 17,746,338 against Central Bottling Company for alleged violations of the Food Law during 2021 and 2022, including findings that the company had recommended or intervened in consumer prices for Tara dairy products at large retailers.[19] The company did not admit to the violations, waived its right to present claims, and no enforcement measures were announced against senior executives; the notice was published for public comment.[19]

During a period of regulated-milk shortages in early 2025, Tara drew attention for stopping sales of regulated one-liter cartons and instead offering regulated milk exclusively in two-liter cartons.[13] In a comparison of December 19–26, 2024, with the preceding week, its sales of two-liter cartons rose 765%, while sales of its lactose-free milk rose 162%.[13] Tara has stated that its dairy operations have been loss-making for years, and it has objected to a proposed 2026 regulatory reform that would classify it as a "large dairy" required to purchase raw milk at a state-protected price — arguing that its monetary market share is below 10%, that it lacks market power, and that the proposed obligation could worsen its financial position.[7] Tara has proposed that support for dairy farmers instead be funded by the state or through a sector-wide mechanism; these are the company's stated positions and have not been independently verified.[7]