Fonterra has started selling fresh milk in China. The dairy is not doing this alone, but together with supermarket chain Hema Fresh, part of e-commerce giant Alibaba.
The new 'Daily Fresh' milk is sold in 14 stores in China. The product is fresh, because the milk comes daily from the Fonterra farm (located in the Chinese province of Hebei). The product is replenished every night, so that only fresh milk is available in the shops every day. In mid-January it will be 3 tons per day, but there are already plans to scale this up. Fonterra wants to expand further in China as soon as possible.
Ask for quality
Christina Zhu, president of Fonterra in China, says the new product contributes to the growing demand for higher quality fresh produce. “Consumers in China are increasingly demanding when it comes to taste and preferences, driven by rising incomes,” explains Zhu.
“More than ever, Chinese consumers are consciously seeking products that are fresh, nutritious and safe, and our new product for Hema is responding to this,” said Zhu. In addition, Zhu emphasizes that Fonterra is the only international dairy company that has a local milk lake in China.
The collaboration
Hou Yi, CEO and founder of Hema Fresh, is pleased with the strategic partnership between the 2 companies. "This partnership will redefine the concept of fresh milk in the new era of retail. As a global leader in the dairy industry, Fonterra is known for the high quality of its milk, its breeding techniques and its experience in food safety and quality." According to Yi, this fits in well with Hema's concept.
The 'Daily Fresh' milk is not the only Fonterra product in Hema's range. The brand 'Anchor' is also sold. It concerns the Anchor UHT milk products, but also cream, butter and cheese are sold. Hema also uses Fonterra Anchor products in its shop bakery.
Alibaba
Alibaba started the supermarket chain Hema in 2016 as a way to combine traditional brick and mortar stores with online shopping. Consumers can shop in-store with their mobile phone, look up information or order online for a delivery within 30 minutes. Hema then leverages the wealth of data it collects through the app to provide a tailor-made, personalized shopping experience to the customer.
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