Fonterra taps in to Thailand

New Zealand-based Fonterra Brands has chosen the relatively untapped Thailand dairy market for the Asian launch of its Anlene concentrated-formula UHT milk.

The company hopes the product will help boost its share of the country’s Bt1.5 billion UHT milk market from 44% now to 50% by next year.
Fonterra Brands (Thailand) marketing manager Kiattisak Pitimanaari said Thai consumers prefer UHT to powdered milk because it is more convenient to drink. He added that the milk drinking behaviour in Thailand is different to many other Asian countries.
Recent research by the Public Health Ministry’s Health Department found that only 20% of Thais consumed high-calcium milk, Kiattisak said, and most take in only 30% of their daily calcium requirement. Fonterra’s new product contains four times more calcium than regular milk. This makes its Bt14 price 50% higher than regular milk, but consumers are willing to pay that, said Kiattisak, as they are more concerned about healthy living than ever before, despite the economic downturn.
Thailand’s concentrated-formula milk market is divided into 70% UHT and 30% powdered, with Fonterra holiding 30% of the UHT and 92% of the powdered milk segments, Kiattisak said. The market has maintained consistent growth of 10% for five years, a relatively low rate which is a result of the lack of innovative products that have been launched in that time, he added.