Fonterra opens Shanghai innovation centre

New Zealand dairy cooperative Fonterra has opened an innovation centre in Shanghai. It says the investment is part of its strategy “to help feed China’s rapidly growing appetite for top-quality dairy nutrition”.

The innovation centre is intended for developing dairy products and premium ingredients to cater to the growing Chinese middle class.

“Demand for dairy nutrition is expected to double by 2020 and the way people consume dairy will change,” said Fonterra’s CEO Theo Spierings. “The opening of the state-of-the-art Shanghai innovation centre will help us build and grow beyond our current product and ingredient offerings and better meet the needs of local Chinese consumers and customers.”

The centre will employ local staff, Fonterra said, who will be trained in product formulation, production, operating procedures and food safety systems.

“As well as focussing on developing new products and ingredients, the centre will also carry out a number of product training courses for major customers, primarily focussed on the Anchor dairy product line,” said Phillip Turner, President of Fonterra China.

“Fonterra Advisory Chefs will help deepen customers’ technical knowledge and develop innovative recipes to meet customers and consumers’ needs.”

Fonterra recently announced that it will invest in two large-scale dairy farms in Hebei Province in north-eastern China.