Moon cakes and milk tea: How Fonterra adapts cream cheese for the Asian market

New Zealand’s provenance and grass-fed credentials help Fonterra products stand out in Asian markets.

Content brought to you by Fonterra

Asian consumers do cream cheese a little differently from Kiwis, but it’s nothing Fonterra can’t handle.

The co-op exports cream cheese across the continent, with China, Japan, and Southeast Asia the main markets.

Fonterra’s site manager for Darfield, Blake Aston, said demand for cream cheese had increased due to an expanding middle class and a growing appetite for fusion bakery and beverage products.

He said the product was also relatively new, so it was combined with more familiar ingredients in traditional dishes.

“An example of that would be the moon cakes; they’re now filled with cream cheese,” he told The Country Sport Breakfast’s Brian Kelly.

Tea macchiatos now have cream cheese toppings; there is even cheese-flavoured milk tea.

Aston said cream cheese snacks were also gaining popularity, although he admitted he found the moon cakes an “acquired taste”.

Listen below:

He said New Zealand’s provenance and grass-fed credentials made Fonterra products stand out in these markets, where consumers appreciated high-quality dairy products.

Flexibility at Fonterra’s plants in New Zealand also helped.

“We can customise the consistency and firmness of that cheese to meet the customer’s specs,” Aston said.

“Whether it’s a bakery item or a beverage, we can really tailor that product accordingly.”

Fonterra also has six application centres and several kitchens across China and Southeast Asia to develop products for the local markets.

“They are particularly dynamic places with changing consumers’ needs and tastes, so it’s important that we can work with those customers and develop new ideas and recipes to suit those needs.”

Cream cheese is an important product in New Zealand, and Aston said the Darfield site specialised in the product, along with milk powder.

He was happy to report things had been going well.

“We’ve had a great season here at Darfield...cream cheese has been the real highlight.”

Darfield has increased its cream cheese production capacity from 24,000 tons to 30,000 tons this year.

Aston said the team managed this by improving operational efficiency and embracing new technologies, with impressive results.

“The site can now produce around 270,000 tons of cream cheese and milk powder.”