Fonterra milk tanker steals the show at Bakery China
The unique feature at this year’s Bakery China was a Fonterra milk tanker parked up at the Co-op's booth.
While cakes full of cream and other delights line the displays of all but a few of the thousands of booths, none, aside from Fonterra, had a tanker.
“Everybody has cakes right, everybody has desserts, but who has a tanker truck? No one. But that’s an integral part of our business. It’s collecting milk from more than 8,000 farms,” says Teh-han Chow, Fonterra's President Global Foodservice and CEO for Greater China.
In a competitive market like China, this is Fonterra's winning proposition – the fact that the milk collected comes from cows grazing outside on grass.
Across the four days, Bakery China sees as many people through its doors as the entire population of Christchurch, about 400,000 people. It’s clear that consumers and businesses in China increasingly appreciate how dairy makes food better.
Chinese consumers are paying more attention to health and are willing to pay for dairy products with sustainability and provenance credentials.
Bakery China is a valuable platform to bring our high-quality dairy products closer to potential customers and strengthen our leading position in the Foodservice market.
"Our customers see the value of our dairy that is produced in New Zealand, from our pasture-based farming system.
"New Zealand’s reputation as a great place to source dairy, and our grass-fed proposition is what sets Fonterra's products in China apart," Chow says.
Apart from the tanker truck, Fonterra showcased more than 50 Foodservice products and 200 applications for the bakery market.
"Bakery China is a valuable platform to bring our high-quality dairy products closer to potential customers and strengthen our leading position in the Foodservice market."
Demand for Fonterra's dairy products continue to increase in China, as bakeries are looking for ways to use more dairy in their products, combining it with local ingredients and tastes.
"Innovating to meet the market's changing taste and preference is key to driving growth for our Foodservice business," Chow says.
Fonterra's six application centres and 50 chefs in China play an important role in developing recipes, ideas and applications in response to market trends, which helps drive demand for Fonterra's Foodservice products.
"We work closely with our customers to explore dairy solutions that satisfy Chinese consumers’ preferences and empower our customers’ businesses, while making dairy nutrition more accessible in consumers’ everyday life,” Chow says.