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It’s been a busy week for Fonterra’s Greater China business, as the co-op has been showcasing New Zealand at the China International Import Expo.
It was important for the co-op to be there, as the expo was the largest import show in China, Fonterra Greater China’s chief executive, Teh-Han Chow said.
“For Fonterra, the China International Import Expo is like a ‘Green Engine,’” Chow told The Country Sport Breakfast’s, Brian Kelly.
“It’s a great opportunity to share our sustainability story with our customers and partners while also helping to drive our business growth in China.”
For example, at this year’s event, Fonterra signed 24 strategic cooperation contracts, launched 15 new products and had over 20 other booth events, such as live streaming and pop-up stores.
“We signed … cooperation agreements with many leading industry players, including GoldMax, JD Group, Milkground, Want Want, Wal-Mart and Mondelēz,” Chow said.
“In fact, we’ve signed more agreements this year than any previous year at CIIE.”
It was the sixth China International Import Expo this year and there were “quite a few interesting events” at the show, Chow said.
“We’re doubling down on grass-fed as a consumer proposition and so we launched Anchor Grass Fed 4.4g High Protein Milk and Mainland brand grass-fed butter.”
It was also the first time Fonterra displayed its new wellbeing nutrition solutions brand, Nutiani, at a major show, Chow said.
“We showcased some new concepts targeting the health-conscious consumer - a Nutiani milk protein shake, and a coffee-flavoured high-protein shake.”
There were also mouth-watering creations on offer from Fonterra’s chefs, Chow said.
“We continued to show some really exciting new recipes where we are incorporating dairy into traditional Chinese dishes and pastries.
“Unfortunately, this year, due to ongoing Covid restrictions, we weren’t able to provide a lot of free tastings.”
Every cloud has a silver lining though.
“I guess saves my waistline,” Chow joked.
Meanwhile, Fonterra has reopened a few of its Application Centres in China, unveiling its newly upgraded Shanghai centre last month.
“We completely updated the facilities with the same equipment that our customers use and created four distinct kitchen areas to support the key channels that we are targeting,” Chow said.
One of the most interesting upgrades for Chow was the adding live streaming capability to the centre.
This innovation kept up with China’s “phenomenal digital pace,” during the Covid/post-Covid era of travel restrictions, he said.
“Live broadcasts have been much more popular and it has been a really acceptable way of engaging with our customers.
“So, we’ve designed our facilities where we can put up professional broadcasts to our customers, or even let our customers use our facilities for showcases to their customers.”
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There are currently four Application Centres in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu and Fonterra plans to open another one in Shenzhen in December.
“That application centre will focus primarily on the beverage and drink applications,” Chow said.
Fonterra’s continuous upgrading of these centres demonstrated the co-op’s confidence and commitment to the China market, Chow said.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand, and Fonterra and its predecessor co-ops have been in China for nearly 50 years.
“So, it’s a great week talking about how Fonterra has been an important part of the past, but also an important part of the future.”