Fonterra initiates partnership with Beingmate

Fonterra has announced that it is looking to purchase a 20% stake in Beingmate, a Chinese milk processing company.

According to Fonterra chief executive, Theo Spierings, the partnership will be a ‘game changer.’ It is hoped that the move will provide a direct line into the infant formula market in China.

“By working together with Beingmate, we will strengthen our infant formula brand presence in China and link China to high quality ingredients from New Zealand, high value paediatric products made at Darnum in Australia, and whey specialty ingredients manufactured at our new plant in Heerenveen in the Netherlands and in alliance with Dairy Crest in the United Kingdom,” said Mr Spierings. “We will also work with Beingmate to evaluate mutual investments in dairy farms in China.

“This will be another milestone in our strategy to create additional demand for ingredients and high-value paediatric and maternal nutrition products made from our New Zealand milk, complemented by milk drawn from our other international milk pools.

“China is our number one market and the proposal to join forces with Beingmate will be an important building block in Fonterra driving volume and value, and taking a step forward in terms of being a globally relevant co-operative.

“Our partnership with Beingmate will show the benefits of an integrated and secure supply chain, starting in New Zealand – our number one milk pool – where we are fast-tracking investment in milk processing capacity to meet global demand.”