New Zealand-based dairy company Fonterra has established a new Application Center in Guangzhou to develop innovative dairy products and services to the company’s foodservice customers in the region.
The Guangzhou facility is equipped with advanced technology and experienced technical experts and professional chefs to cater to the growing food needs of Southern China with dairy nutritional offerings.
The Application Centre will offer dairy solutions for foodservice industry. These solutions include technology demonstrations, custom-made professional training, recipe development and marketing workshops.
The company's team of chefs will collaborate with the Cooperative's leading global research and development teams to offer product innovations to China.
Fonterra Greater China managing director Christina Zhu said: "China's casual dining and bakery market has developed rapidly in recent years, with an annual growth rate above 20 per cent. Within that overall growth, the demand for food made with premium dairy products also continues to rise.
"As the cultural and economic hub of Southern China, we are seeing strong growth in Guangzhou and are excited to bring our specialist Application Centre services to customers here.
"Fonterra is committed to growing and developing the Chinese dairy industry alongside our partners and we believe this facility is a great platform for delivering on this commitment by sharing our rich New Zealand dairy knowledge and expertise with our local partners. We are looking forward to serving our customers in China through the Application Centre and continuing to bring high quality dairy nutrition to Chinese consumers."
The company is taking positive strides after it posted a 183% increase in full-year profits, despite a fall in global milk prices. Net profit after tax was NZ$506m ($317.36m) for the year ended July 31, compared to NZ$179m a year ago.