Arla Foods has established a partnership with an Ivorian distribution firm to package and sell its Dano brand milk powder on the African continent.
The Denmark-based dairy cooperative has teamed up with Aboubakar Fofana, the owners of the Mata Holding company which is located in Ivory Coast’s largest city and capital, Abidjan.
The partnership plans to package Arla’s Dano milk powder which is manufactured at their plant in Akafa, Denmark, into 25g metallic sachets at Arla’s new mobile packaging station that will soon be located in Abidjan. The new mobile packing station which will be erected on Mata Holding’s site is comprised from three 400 foot shipping containers and has an annual production capacity of 2,000 tons.
After packaging, the sachets, which contain the exact amount of milk powder needed for one glass of milk, will then be distributed by Mata Holdings to thousands of shops all over the country.
Having the right partner is crucial as the shops are very small and scattered across the country. Mata Holding is a strong sales and distribution partner, and Aboubakar has an international mindset from his previous employment in an international company, and he uses several international suppliers. And as he also has production experience, he fits our needs perfectly,†says Rasmus Malmbak Kjeldsen, who is responsible for Arla Foods’ overall business in the Middle East and Africa (MEA).
The new agreement is the first in the pipeline of up to five joint ventures in Africa. The MEA team are continuously working on establishing important strategic bases in the larger African countries of Nigeria and Egypt.
Source:Â Arla Foods
