Arla appears to be eyeing a move into branded infant nutrition in the UK - it has applied to register ‘Big Milk’ as a trademark for powdered milk and milk for toddlers with the Intellectual Property Office.

According to IPO records, Arla is seeking to register the name across three product classes: class five, which covers powdered milk class 29, which covers a number of milk categories including ‘vitamin-enriched fresh milk for toddlers’ and class 30, which covers chocolate and coffee milk drinks as well as ice cream.

Arla filed its application with the IPO at the end of September, and the trademark was published in the Trade Marks Journal last week.

Arla declined to comment specifically on its plans for Big Milk but said NPD and innovation would be core to its plans for 2014. Mike Walker, senior marketing director for branded milk, said there would be “a number of exciting new launches from Arla”.

Separately, Arla this week announced it would start selling skimmed milk powder on the Global Dairy Trade auction platform - the first time British dairy commodities have been sold through the auction.