Arla Foods to form US$1.8M 'innovation lab' in Beijing, says it will develop dairy flavors to suit Chinese market

Nevin Barich

April 28, 2014 (Al Bawaba Business ) – Danish dairy firm Arla is investing DKK10m to form a new "innovation lab" in Beijing, promised to developing flavours to suit the Chinese market.

Arla's business in China at present is based on the export of high-quality dairy products from Europe, counting milk powder, UHT-milk, and cheese. The new lab will notice Arla launch products "which are completely developed and produced for Chinese consumers".

Senior vice president Frede Juulsen, who is accountable for Arla's business in China said, "It's all about developing the next blockbuster product for the Chinese dairy market. Our first focus will be to create the right kind of cheese products that will make more Chinese consumers love cheese in new and different ways. But it must be done in a way that respects and contributes to the food trends developing in China, and therefore we are placing this innovation lab in Beijing .

The new lab will be formed in the China-Denmark Milk Technology Cooperation Centre in Beijing where Arla is collaborating with Chinese dairy giant Mengniu to make stronger the industry in terms of milk quality, food safety, and quality control in dairy farms.

Juulsen said, "These years more and more Chinese consumers are experimenting with food, wine and tastes, and that creates new opportunities for a food company like Arla. We are striving to be as close to the Chinese consumer as possible in order to create taste experiences that suit their diets and taste profiles, thereby bringing health and inspiration to China. We aim to take the lead in the cheese category in China, and building a cheese lab is a key step in creating long-term collaborations with our customers and consumers - a place where we can co-create and innovate in an agile and dynamic manner .

(c) 2014 Al Bawaba (Albawaba.com) Provided by Syndigate.info, an Albawaba.com company

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.