On September 24, The Coca-Cola Company and
Mengniu's joint venture, KeNiuLe, held a new product launch conference in
Shanghai and announced the launch of the Fairlife brand to enter the
low-temperature milk market. At the conference, KeNiuLe announced that the
company would bring three types of low-temperature nutritious dairy products to
customers, which are whole milk, low-fat milk, and chocolate milk.
Compared with the ordinary low-temperature
fresh milk on the market, Fairlife is a modified milk with its own unique
characteristics in terms of nutrients and shelf life. The packaging of each of
its products contains the product's nutrition facts, according to which the
protein and calcium in each product are 1.7 times and 1.26 times that of
regular milk, respectively.
Taking protein as an example, the protein
content of 100 grams of Fairlife reaches 5.3 grams, while ordinary
low-temperature milk is around 3 grams. In addition, Fairlife milk can last for
up to 28 days, while ordinary pasteurized low-temperature milk can usually last
for 7 to 21 days.
Mengniu President Lu Minfang explained that
the Fairlife dairy product consists of milk and other nutritious combinations.
The nutritional content of milk is reconstructed through processing to retain
what consumers need most, and the ingredients that consumers do not need, such
as lactose, are no longer retained. There are also some fats, which use
technology to increase the protein content to a high level while retaining good
taste. Such milk is actually reconstituted milk, but still retains the good
taste of fresh milk.
According to reports, in order to reconstruct
the nutritional content of milk, the Fairlife series products adopt the
internationally leading patented technology "UF Purification
Ultrafiltration Technology" to retain more of the original nutrients in
the milk and remove the burden on the human body from the milk from certain
ingredients, such as lactose. Therefore, Fairlife products have many advantages
such as high protein, high calcium, zero lactose, and relatively long shelf
life.
China becomes Fairlife's first major international market
The Fairlife brand was established in the USA
in 2014. At the end of 2019, Coca-Cola acquired the remaining 57.5% of Fairlife
from its joint venture partners, thereby owning 100% of Fairlife.
According to Lu MingFang, Mengniu and the
Coca-Cola Company have a strong connections. Over the years, the two sides have
continuously cooperated in various fields, yielding fruitful results. As early
as 2018, the two companies planned to start a strong partnership. In the summer
of 2020, the two companies set up a joint venture company, KeNiuLe, and
invested in the construction of a production base in Bengbu city of Anhui
province and set out to introduce Fairlife's innovative dairy product to China.
Coca-Cola pivoting into general beverage market
Lu MingFang said that the construction took
only 11 months, compared with 3 years for the construction of similar plants in
the United States. In less than a year, KeNiuLe recruited high-end talents and
quickly completed the formation of brand, sales and functional teams.
The launch of Fairlife products in China is
another important move for Coca-Cola China to accelerate its transformation
into an ‘all-category beverage’ company to meet the diverse needs of Chinese
consumers.
Vamsi Mohan Thati, President of The Coca-Cola
Company of Greater China and Mongolia stated that the company has always been
committed to fulfilling its commitment to the Chinese market, providing Chinese
consumers with more high-quality product choices, and contributing to the
accomplishment of the goal of "Healthy China 2030."
For more information, please check our Dairy
Products China News.
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