A dairy SME is a company that processes an average of 20,000 litres of milk per day and produces soft, semi-hard and hard cheeses, sachet milk and yoghurt, dulce de leche or specialities. 

In general, they produce a small group of fast-moving commodity handmade products with traditional technology. 

As they use less technology in their manufacturing process, dairy SMEs need more labour force than large industries, which resulted in the creation a total of 10,000 jobs. Due to their location in small towns and their local roots, they employ and train labor forces in their communities, which promotes employment in rural areas.

An important number of dairy SMEs have their own dairy farms, which provide them with a significant part of the raw material of a similar quality to that of large companies. In general, they are supplied by nearby dairy farms and provide products to the surrounding areas, thus reducing transport costs.