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.
A recent example is when Fonterra decided it would get in on the International Women's Day trend.
However, its attempt to show just how woke it is turned out to be a PR fiasco.
Firstly, the dairy co-op announced it would hold a special panel to mark International Women's Day with a discussion on 'breaking the bias'.
Problem was all the members of its discussion panel were men.
Predictability, social media - i.e. people with too much time on their hands - took umbrage and outrage about the gaff.
Fonterra was then forced to quickly backtrack and include a couple of women in the panel, as well as apologise for being such a terrible sexist, unthinking monstrosity.
Maybe the dairy co-op should just stick to collecting, manufacturing and selling milk and leave the PC, woke claptrap to others.
