Analysis milk
Can FrieslandCampina win members with a lower entry?
FrieslandCampina wants to become more attractive to new entrants again, the new cooperative chairman Siebren Attema announced at the start of the latest series of member meetings. Therefore, the financial barricade that still barricades the door must be greatly lowered.
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The board believes that instead of €15,00 per 100 kilos of entrance fee, only €5,00 will have to be asked. The €8,00 per 100 kilos for the purchase of delivery rights remains in place. That's not all. Those who have switched to a competitor with a premium from the Dutch Milk Foundation (DMF) are also welcome again. The exact conditions under which this is possible are not yet clear and could still be the subject of much discussion.
On balance € 13,00 per 100 kilos of deposit to be allowed to join a cooperative is still not little in the meantime. And then also the slightly above-average requirements of FrieslandCampina must be met. Still, it comes across as more forthcoming than the old set of conditions. FrieslandCampina makes quite a few concessions, you could say.
NGO-influenced
The question is whether this will also make FrieslandCampina attractive for dairy farmers. A prospective member also looks at FrieslandCampina's payment vis-à-vis other dairy companies to see whether he or she recognizes himself in the NGO-influenced course the company is taking, whether it clicks with the organization and whether he or she feels sufficiently seen and heard. In view of the social discussions of recent years regarding nitrogen, manure, climate and NGOs, it is conceivable that a number of things still need to be clarified here.
Changed company status
FrieslandCampina is still a leading, strong and large dairy company, but the world has changed and the profile of the cooperative and the company is no longer as it was ten or eight years ago. At that time, being a member of FrieslandCampina almost equaled guaranteed above-average pay, certainty of results and the feeling of being on the first rank.
That's all a bit worn out. Meanwhile, competitors have not been sitting still either. They can pay the same milk price and can give farmers just as good a club feeling. They are also not lacking in dynamism. Moreover, they often recognized earlier than FrieslandCampina that milk is not a burden, but is really a joy and of strategic importance.
Taking that into account, FrieslandCampina probably needs more to win over groups of members again. The signal from the board that it wants to fight for the milk again is of great psychological value.