Yili launches ice cream and R&D in Indonesia
Yili Group, Asia’s largest dairy firm, has launched its first Mocha Coffee ice cream in Indonesia, marking a new milestone in expansion for one of China’s most recognised dairy brands, the company says.
The mocha flavoured ice cream, a product under the Joyday brand, features a recipe created 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 the packaging and 11 different flavours, including mint, blueberry and sweet corn flavour, with durian and mango flavours to be introduced soon.
Yili also found that the supply of yogurt 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 lactic acid bacteria species developed by Agricultural University of Athens for the launch of its yogurt, Ambrosial, which combined with Yili’s advanced manufacturing and packing technology to provide the first PET-bottled room tempreture yogurt. In addition, the protein content is 35% higher than average yogurt 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.”
Yili has established an 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-US Food Wisdom Valley with the top universities and scientific research institutions in the US. In Oceania, Yili invested RMB3 billion (€386m) to build the Yili Group Oceania Production Base, an extensive integrated dairy production base, covering production, processing, R&D and packaging.
