Thursday, 07 November 2019 17:39

India partnership new way doing things — Fonterra

Written by  Sudesh Kissun

Fonterra says its new partnership in India is an example of how the co-op is doing things differently.

The launch of Fonterra’s food service business with Indian partner Future Group is described as “a capital light partnership”.

Speaking at Fonterra’s annual meeting in Invercargill today, chief executive Miles Hurrell said the venture combines the co-op’s dairy knowledge and know-how, with Future’s Group’s access to market, established customer base, and strong marketing and distribution networks. 

“Combine these two skill sets together and you get more than the sum of its parts.”

 Through this partnership Fonterra will be exporting its Anchor Food Professionals products from New Zealand to India, where demand for dairy is expected to grow at seven times the rate of China over the next decade. 

“And the reason I raise this as an example is because I believe it highlights the change in our thinking,” Hurrell told about 200 shareholders at the meeting.

“In the past, we thought we needed to have physical assets on the ground in order to succeed. “We also had a wall of milk coming at us – which is not the case today.

“Now, under our new strategy, we are looking to leverage our dairy know-how through partnerships, which will allow us to exploit our intellectual property and enter markets that we might not otherwise have had access to, and to do so in a capital light way.

Hurrell says this is something Fonterra is looking to do more of under its new strategy.

More like this

Winston Peters questions Fonterra divestment plan

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.

Editorial: A new era for two co-ops

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.

Should co-op sell its consumer brands?

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.

Featured

'One more push' to eliminate FE

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.

Winston Peters questions Fonterra divestment plan

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.

National

Machinery & Products

New McHale terra drive axle option

Well-known for its Fusion baler wrapper combination, Irish manufacturer McHale has launched an interesting option at the recent Irish Ploughing…

Amazone unveils flagship spreader

With the price of fertiliser still significantly higher than 2024, there is an increased onus on ensuring its spread accurately at…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Tough times

OPINION: Dairy industry players are also falling by the wayside as the economic downturn bites around the country.

MSA triumph

OPINION: Methane Science Accord, a farmer-led organisation advocating for zero tax on ruminant methane, will be quietly celebrating its first…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter