increase font size
A hot and cold tea macchiato shot using Fonterra UHT cream.
Tea topped with blended cream may not appeal to many Kiwis but it does to Chinese, says Fonterra.
They consume about 20 billion dairy-topped drinks annually — a lucrative market. Most popular is tea macchiato, a tea blend topped with a whipped cream and cream cheese blend.
Fonterra says sales of its cream and cream cheese to Chinese beverage outlets has risen 500% in two years, hence more production lines at its Waitoa UHT plant.
It recently completed a 1L UHT line and has begun building a second line to make an extra 45 million L for Asia, Middle East and Caribbean markets.
The $35m expansion will make 120 million extra 1L UHT cream packs and add 26 jobs.
Fonterra director global foodservice Grant Watson says Chinese are preferring fresh products and “dairy is really starting to take off... NZ dairy, grass-fed and nutritious”.
The co-op grew its combined consumer and foodservice volumes in Greater China by 48% in the 2016 financial year, it says. It is active in 76 cities and aims to grow that to 160 cities in five years. In China, many dairy products, such as cheese, are consumed mainly with and on other foods, rather than on their own. The co-op’s Anchor Food Professionals division identifies and exploits emerging product trends, such as beverages, hence the tea macchiato.
Modern Chinese tea outlets range in size from large cafés to street-side kiosks. Big brands have huge queues at peak times: a major new café in Shanghai had customers queueing for up to two hours. The growth is especially among young, affluent consumers.
Fonterra chief operating officer global operations Robert Spurway says decisions to expand, based on demand, reflect “the great work our foodservice team are doing in the markets”.
Fonterra’s Waitoa plant now has seven production lines; lines 1, 2 and 6 are dedicated 1L foodservice lines capable of foodservice whipping and cooking creams, and UHT milk. Line 3 is a 200ml pack line handling
Milk For Schools packs. Lines 4 and 8 are 250ml pack lines mostly for children’s milk and organics, and line 7 is for 125ml packs of pineapple flavoured beverage, a favourite in China.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
OPINION: Farmer shareholders of two of New Zealand's largest co-operatives have an important decision to make this month and what they decide could change the landscape of the dairy and meat sectors in New Zealand.
OPINION: As CEO of the Dairy Board in the 1980s I was fortunate to work with a team of experienced and capable executives who made most of the brand investments that created the international consumer business Fonterra inherited. Soprole in Chile was the largest, but there were more than 20 countries where consumer marketing companies were established and Anchor and other brands were successfully launched.
Fonterra has delivered a fifth straight year of record organic milk price for farmer suppliers.
Fonterra says favourable weather conditions supporting pasture growth is boosting milk production.
Like many manufacturers around the world, European agricultural machinery and tractor manufacturers are currently operating in a difficult market environment. But they are heading to the world’s largest agricultural machinery event in Hanover next month with a degree of cautious optimism.
Established in 2021, the John Deere Technician of the Year Awards champion the important contribution parts and service technicians make to the Australian and New Zealand agriculture, construction and forestry industries.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling on farmers from all regions to take part in the final season of the Sheep Poo Study aiming to build a clearer picture of how facial eczema (FE) affects farms across New Zealand.
New Zealand is closer to eradicating bovine TB than ever before, but possums remain a threat, says Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
The ACT Party says media reports that global dairy giant Nestle has withdrawn from the Dairy Methane Action Alliance shows why New Zealand needs to rethink its approach to climate.
OPINION: Dairy industry players are also falling by the wayside as the economic downturn bites around the country.
OPINION: Methane Science Accord, a farmer-led organisation advocating for zero tax on ruminant methane, will be quietly celebrating its first…
