Responding to the Market: Yili's New Dairy Products Hits the Shelves in Southeast Asia

          Yili Group (SHA: 600887), Asia's largest dairy firm, launched their first Mocha Coffee Ice Cream in Indonesia recently, marking a new milestone in expansion for one of China's most recognised dairy brands. The mocha-flavour ice-cream, a product under the Joyday brand, features a unique recipe created especially for the market with a stronger aroma and level of sweetness.

          The product was created following insight gained from Yili's marketing research team, who found that strong-flavoured, small-portioned and affordable products are most popular amongst Indonesian consumers. In contrast to the current product lines in the local market, the ice-cream products stand out with their exquisite packaging and 11 different flavours, including mint, blueberry and sweet-corn flavour, with durian and mango flavour to be introduced soon.

          Yili also found that the supply of yoghurt in Southeast Asia is constrained by the high cost of cold chain logistics and raw milk supply issues. To combat supply chain issues, Yili make use of a unique lactic acid bacteria species developed by Agricultural University of Athens for the launch of their yoghurt, Ambrosial, which combined with Yili's advanced manufacturing and packing technology to provide the first PET-bottled room tempreture yoghurt. In addition, the protein content is 35% higher than average yoghurt products, according to Yili Innovation Centre.

          "We are delighted to see the successful launch of our products in Southeast Asia markets. We owe our sincerest thanks to the joint efforts of our R&D centres across the globe," said Yipeng Zhang, Vice President of Yili Group. "Yili has always been open and cooperative in the process of internationalisation. Yili is hoping to drive the global dairy industry further with our innovative capability and global resources," Zhang added.

          Yili has established an extensive R&D network aimed at continuously promoting and integrating the use of global resources. In Europe, Yili partnered with the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands to establish the Yili European Innovation Center. In North America, Yili implemented the "SINO-U.S. Food Wisdom Valley" with the top universities and scientific research institutions in the United States. In Oceania, Yili invested RMB three billion (USD 437 million) to build the "Yili Group Oceania Production Base", one of the most extensive integrated dairy production base in the world, covering production, processing, R&D, and packaging.

          In the years ahead, Yili aims to become the world's most trusted health food provider.

          About Yili

          Beginning in 1956, Yili Group has been the largest dairy producer in China with over 60 years developmet. Now Yili ranks first in Asia according to the 2018 Rabobank "Global Dairy Top 20". Yili was awarded "China's best practices of Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)" by the UN Global Compact, the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative in 2017, and ranks third in "Top 50 Most Valuable Food Brands in the World" by Brand Finance in 2019.