Fonterra group director strategy, Maury Leyland, says results show growing awareness of the importance of dairy nutrition in the region. The research results were released for the 13th Annual World Milk Day.
“With a fast-growing and increasingly affluent population, people across Asia are becoming more focused on their families receiving the right nutrition. Fonterra is well-positioned to help meet this demand,” says Leyland.
“Our strategy outlines our focus on the Asian markets, where we see big potential for growth. In New Zealand the average person consumes the equivalent of 245 litres of milk each year, but in Asia this average is only 30 litres.”
Dairy demand in Asia has increased by 49% over the last 10 years. Fonterra is in 11 markets there educating food companies and consumers about the benefits of dairy, and looking at ways to make dairy more accessible in daily diets and a core ingredient in commercial kitchens.
“Our high-calcium milk brand, Anlene, is helping hundreds of millions of people maintain good bone health with one billion serves sold in 2012; our Anmum brand reaches more than one million mothers-to-be in Asia every year, serving over 300 million glasses,” Leyland says.
“We’re also making the most of opportunities in the global foodservice industry. In 2013, our dairy ingredients will be used in four billion meals, 12 million cheesecakes, 1.6 billion burgers, 675 million pizzas, and 30 million smoothies.”
Of those surveyed, Chinese and Thai consumers were the most aware of the benefits of dairy nutrition, with 84% saying they believed it was an important part of a balanced diet. Recognition was the lowest (60%) in Indonesia, Taiwan and Vietnam. Chinese consumers are eating the most dairy: 60% eating at least one serving a day, followed by the Philippines (53%).
