Yili’s Joyday event in Indonesia
Asian dairy producer, Yili Group, held an opening ceremony to celebrate the official launch of the first phase of its Yili Indonesia Dairy Production Base. Upon completion of its second phase, the production base will become the country’s largest ice cream factory.
The state-of-the-art facility was established due to the surging popularity of Joyday ice cream, a brand that has rapidly expanded its reach to 260 local cities in 26 provinces, covering nearly all of Indonesia, since its entry into the market in 2018. Covering an area of 17 hectares, the investment in the first phase of the project is RMB867 million. For the first phase of the project, the production capacity will be 159 tonnes per day. This will then expand by another 184 tonnes per day during the second phase, adding up to 343 tonnes per day. Following completion of both phases, the production base will be able to produce four million ice cream units daily. As such, it will be the largest ice cream factory in Indonesia.
On 10 December 2021, following the joint efforts of Yili Indonesia Dairy and its partners, the first phase of Yili Indonesia Dairy was officially completed, and production was launched.
“Local consumers’ clear preference for and trust in our products has reinforced Yili’s confidence about our long-term investment and development in Indonesia,” says Pan Gang, chairman and president of Yili Group, in a virtual speech delivered at the ceremony. “Yili is always dedicated to following the highest standards to drive quality, sustainable development over the long term and establishing localised operations that benefit the communities where we operate. This ensures that we can better serve local consumers and make deep contributions to socio-economic development throughout the region.”
Catering to local needs while leveraging the global resources brought together by Yili Group, the Indonesia-based hub aims to speed up Joyday’s product manufacturing, R&D and marketing efforts, with more new products to come, to bring more services and consumer experiences to local customers.
A green and open factory
As Yili’s first self-built plant in Southeast Asia, Yili Indonesia Dairy has adopted cutting-edge technology and equipment, including the Internet of Things and big data analytics, to build an innovative and smart factory. The production base integrates advanced digital technologies throughout its entire production chain.
Additionally, the energy system and water treatment system can be monitored and controlled in real-time; its pre-processing equipment, filling equipment, refrigeration system, and production lines are fully automated; the pasteurisation system features fully automated temperature identification and control, and robotics solutions are used to provide automated packing, palletising, and warehousing. Meanwhile, the cooling system can operate autonomously without requiring any manpower.
The construction of infrastructure and buildings has been undertaken in line with Yili Group’s global quality management standards. To date, the factory has already passed the ISO22000, Halal, and BPOM certifications and been rated A grade by LPPOM MUI, the largest food and drug certification agency in Indonesia.
As part of its efforts to build a sustainable and environmentally friendly production facility, Yili Indonesia Dairy has built a wastewater treatment system with a daily treatment capacity of 2,800 tons. Reclaimed water is then used for the irrigation of plants in the factory.
For energy conservation and reducing emissions, the factory uses high-efficiency, energy-saving motors and natural gas boilers, which help the factory to cut electricity consumption by 1.21 million kilowatt-hours per year and carbon dioxide emissions by 8,029 tonnes per year. It also uses low-noise equipment and shock-absorbing design to minimise noise pollution. Additionally, the factory has developed 17,000 square meters of lawns to create a positive ecological environment and help purify the air.
To ensure high levels of visibility and transparency, the site will be open to the public whenever the factory is in full operation, and consumers can watch the whole production process as it unfolds.
Together with local partners
While deepening its presence in global markets, Yili follows the principle of “global mindsets and local operations,” with a focus on building highly localised factories that benefit local communities. Today, Yili Indonesia Dairy has a total of 383 employees, with local employees accounting for 95 per cent of the workforce. The project is expected to create more than 5,000 new jobs for local communities, directly and indirectly.
It also regularly organises a diverse range of training and learning activities to help employees further improve their skillsets and broaden their career horizons. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Yili Indonesia Dairy covered the vaccination cost for employees and conducted nucleic acid tests for all staff on a regular basis to help ensure their personal health as well as the safe and orderly operation of the factory.
Yili Indonesia Dairy is also actively pursuing further opportunities for co-operation with local partners. To date, the company has already established co-operative relationships with more than 90 suppliers in Indonesia. Locally sourced raw and auxiliary materials account for 65 per cent of the total quantity of raw and auxiliary materials procured by the plant. Moving forward, its partnerships will expand to local distributors with 200,000 sales outlets. Yili is also dedicated to promoting the highly rated Indonesian flavors to global consumers through its worldwide marketing channels.
Southeast Asia dual centers established
The completion of Yili Indonesia Dairy sets up another pillar for Yili’s development in the Indonesian and the broader Southeast Asian markets, the company says. Together with the firm’s Thailand-based ice cream production base, Yili’s “Southeast Asian dual centers” and Southeast Asia Innovation Center have taken shape and are expected to accelerate product manufacturing and R&D in the sector.
As a platform designed to facilitate cooperation on innovation with universities and R&D institutions throughout the region, the Yili Southeast Asia Innovation Center will also work together closely with Yili’s innovation centers spread across China, Japan, Europe and Oceania, with the aim of rolling out more localised innovation solutions.
In the pursuit of building a “global health ecosystem,” Yili Group has been dedicated to reaching markets where consumers’ demands for quality dairy products have yet to be fulfilled. As an important base facilitating Yili’s engagement with global markets, Yili Indonesia Dairy will coordinate and share resources with other subsidiaries of Yili Group to serve consumers with world-class products and share its business success with partners.
Yili Indonesia Dairy: A snapshot
- September 2015, Yili’s Indonesian subsidiary, PT. Green Asia Food Indonesia, was formally established in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia
- The Yili Indonesia Dairy Production Base is a factory of PT. Green Asia Food Indonesia
- It currently has 483 employees, with 383 working in the Yili Indonesia Dairy Production Base, and 100 in PT. Green Asia Food Indonesia
- In October 2018, Yili officially launched the Joyday ice cream brand in the Indonesian market
- To date, more than 20 different Joyday ice creams have been rolled out in more than 260 cities in 26 provinces, covering almost the entire country. Joyday ice creams are also exported to Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar and other countries
- In June 2021, Joyday received the 2021 Choice of Customers Brand Award Infobrand from one of Indonesia’s leading brand research institutions
- The Production Base is located in the Greenland International Industrial Center, Bekasi City, West Java and expected to become the largest ice cream factory in Indonesia after the project is completed
