Business North May 2021

44 | DAIRY INDUSTRY Danone New Zealand Innovation leads to more choice for customers Danone has progressively extended its milk formula range of products in New Zealand to offer more alternatives to consumers. Recent innovations include A2 milk, which is easier to digest for some babies C losely following market and consumers’ trends, Danone is constantly looking for ways to explore bold new horizons while maintaining high agility and flexibility to respond to demand, says Danone New Zea- land operations director Leon Fung. I In the last few years Danone has progres - sively extended its milk formula range of products in New Zealand to offer more alter - natives to consumers. Recent innovations include A2 milks, which are easier to digest for some babies, as well as specialty milks like goat milk and sheep milk. The Danone’s research and innovation team has also worked on new recipes for increas- ingly popular plant based alternatives like soy. Beyond innovating in formulations and specialty milks, Leon says that Danone in New Zealand has also been breaking new ground working on dairy standards. Last year the team collaborated closely with AsureQuality to devise a whole new industry standard for grass-fed certification to raise standards in New Zealand and benefit the dairy industry as a whole. The new Karicare Gold+ Organic Grass-Fed Toddler formula- tion will be the first to use the independent certification. Leon says that the Karicare team has been investigating the sustainability benefits of grass-fed farms for the environment for several years in order to protect and restore biodiversity, helping to create a healthy, resil- ient food system. “Cows’ bodies are designed to eat grass and this ensures the best quality of milk as nature intended. Returning ruminants to the land can T T Karen Phelps T T Digital innovations - page 46 result in multiple benefits including restoring soil biodiversity and improving the land over- all rather than depleting it. “Also because grasses trap atmospheric carbon dioxide, the grass-fed system can also help fight climate change through carbon sequestration, a priority for Danone as we aim to become a zero-net carbon company by 2050. The grass-fed system is closely related to regenerative agriculture, a more natural way of farming and another one of Danone key priorities as it can aid in the restoration of a healthy ecosystem for the planet.” He says that while the Karicare teams were instrumental in laying the foundation and initiating the new certification, this major step for the New Zealand dairy industry would not have been possible to achieve without the contribution of a number of key local partners especially Danone’s New Zealand milk suppli- ers and AsureQuality. At the same time Danone is also looking beyond infant formula to explore a whole new area - healthy aging products. Leon says that science about healthy aging is still developing and Danone is at the forefront worldwide, especially in Europe where the company has its own science and research centre in the Netherlands. “We want to put Oceania on the map of healthy aging innovation and leverage our New Zealand assets to manufacture high quality products,” explains Leon. “We have already started working with qualified partners in New Zealand to devel - op healthy aging products together. These partnerships will enable us to be more agile and flexible in regards to the evolving market, while leveraging our partners’ strengths as well as our own. “It will make our facilities in New Zealand a more strategic manufacturing platform and it is very exciting to see a whole new world of products opening up to us.” Constant investment in Danone’s New Zea - land operations has been an important factor and over the past five years alone $150m has been invested in its six New Zealand sites. Leon says that the company will be continuing to look at other opportunities for expansion as the market demands. “Our passion for innovation is also driven by our pride in contributing to the reputation of New Zealand’s dairy products overseas with high quality standards and value-add products.” “It will make our facilities in New Zealand a more strategic manufacturing platform and it is very exciting to see a whole new world of products opening up to us.” Proud to support Danone with logistics services TEL 64-9-256 0861 www.burnard.co.nz At Ahikā, we get projects going! By working together, we shape places where nature and communities thrive forever. We bring vision and leadership to every stage of our projects with our skilled team’s multi-disciplinary approach, we will uncover the richness in your project. We work across a broad spectrum of sectors including: IDEAS FOR SUSTAINABLE FUTURES Contact us to get your project going TODAY! www.ahika.co.nz | 027 3877 866 | info@ahika.co.nz ENERGY, CARBON & WASTE IN BUSINESS BIODIVERSITY & CONSERVATION FOOD, FARMS & FRESHWATER CARBON FORESTS & BIOENERGY Providing Danone Nutricia with quality multi-wall, hygienic, paper bags made in New Zealand from renewable, sustainability harvested forestry and recycled wood fibre PROUD TO BE SUPPORTING DANONE NUTRICIA Oji Fibre Solutions (NZ) Ltd | customerservicepaperbag@ojifs.com | 09 526 1856 | ojifs.com