“The news coverage of it was so incredible, with the news hitting millions and millions of people in China.”
Chow said the Grass-fed proposition set Fonterra apart in China, so meeting this Standard strengthened the co-op’s competitive advantages in the market.
Fonterra had been promoting grass-fed dairy for a while, and Chow said the Standard reinforced that focus.
“As all of our farmers in New Zealand know, our pastures and our pastoral farming methods are really special and they’re unique.”
Chow said Fonterra launched its grass-fed campaign back in 2016.
He said that, while this showed a commitment to providing high-quality grass-fed dairy products to the market, a national standard was important in explaining what grass-fed meant.
Fonterra was already excelling in this area, Chow said.
“Our data shows that our farmers’ cows meet and exceed the Standard’s requirements.
“This was a true milestone for our New Zealand dairy industry, to be able to bring a national standard to the grass-fed market in China, so that we’re taking everything to the next level.
“There aren’t many countries that have a national government standard on what grass-fed means.”
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Fonterra talked to consumers about its products to highlight the grass-fed difference, Chow said.
He used butter as an example.
“The butter that we produce is made from milk from grass-fed cows, and therefore it contains more beta-carotene than that from grain-fed cows.
“That gives our butter that natural golden colour and I think that resonates with consumers.”
Chow explained that the Chinese term for butter was “huang you”, two characters.
“The first character, Huang, means yellow, and the second character, You, means oil.
“So it’s literally translated as yellow oil– hello, what colour should butter be?"
Fonterra’s grass-fed story was being told outside of China as well, Chow said.
“Our customers in other markets in Asia, such as Korea and Vietnam, have really been promoting our grass-fed claims in their products.”
He said the Standard would help solidify Fonterra’s position in markets where it competed with other suppliers making grass-fed claims.
“Especially where suppliers cannot make such claims due to the nature of their farming systems, for example, large parts of the US or European dairy producers.
“So we really appreciate the New Zealand Government and the Ministry for Primary Industries working collaboratively with the sector, and at a really good speed, in terms of the development of the standard to meet this market demand.”
