What Would Synlait Be Worth to Fonterra or a2 Milk?
Speculation of a possible joint move by Fonterra and a2 Milk to buy Synlait raises a much bigger strategic question, says agribusiness expert Dr Nic Lees.
The global markets for physical, mental and inner wellbeing nutrition are growing at 6% per year and worth US$66 billion today, while medical nutrition is valued at US$50 billion and growing 5% annually.
The new business-tobusiness brand is another step in Fonterra’s strategy to be a leader in nutrition science and innovation.
The co-op’s chief innovation and brand officer Komal Mistry-Mehta says the creation of the new brand brings to life concepts that help customers tailor their products to meet consumers’ evolving wellbeing nutrition needs.
“Our health and wellbeing customers are facing growing pressure to accelerate their innovation pipeline to respond to these dynamic consumer demands, yet they face common challenges during new product development and are looking for partners to fill their capability gaps.”
She says Nutiani answers this need by providing a suite of solutions which help customers tackle the pain points associated with each step of the innovation journey – from identifying the opportunity to validating the final product.
Nutiani will offer end-to-end solutions to customers through a combination of wellbeing nutrition products, concepts and services that leverage the co-op’s intellectual property and investments in research.
"We see a clear opportunity to win in critical segments of the global wellbeing nutrition space,” says Mistry-Mehta.
“Fonterra’s deep expertise in nutrition science gives us an incredible advantage here.
“We will use Fonterra’s existing expertise in nutrition science to develop targeted solutions, while opening up opportunities for strategic partnerships to deliver access to new markets and consumers.”
She points out that people are paying more attention to wellbeing and managing it through diet. Research shows 96% of consumers actively manage their wellbeing, with more than half of these consciously managing their diet to improve their wellbeing.
“To create a greater impact in the health and wellbeing space, we must not only capture the opportunities we see today but also look to the future, helping our customers stay ahead of the curve,” says Mistry-Mehta.
