The first shipment of infant milk formula from A2 Corporation will be sent to China next month, as the dairy company taps into lucrative international demand for New Zealand-made infant formula.Packaging for the A2 Platinum formula has begun in Auckland and the first Chinese shipment will be followed shortly after by distribution to supermarkets in Australasia.
A2 milk comes from cows specially selected, through a DNA test, to produce A2 betacasein protein rather than A1. The milk has been processed, on behalf of A2 Corporation, by Synlait Milk Ltd in Mid-Canterbury.
The planned roll-out in China would initially include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Congqing before expanding to further major cities, as well as Hong Kong and Macau.
A2 products were responding directly to the increasing global focus on digestive health, allergies and intolerances, A2 Corporation managing director Geoffrey Babidge said in a statement.
The security of the supply chain in China would be overseen by China State Farms Holding Company Shanghai (CSF), the company’s distributor of formula in greater China.
Marketing was being overseen by a joint committee of A2 Corporation and CSF, chaired by Mr Babidge.
Joint funding of $US3 million ($NZ3.5 million) had been initially committed with additional contributions being made based on a proportion of sales.
A2 Corporation, a New Zealand-listed company which was initially backed by Dunedin businessman the late Howard Paterson, has operations in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and China. It is also pursuing growth opportunities in Asia, North America and Europe.
Source: ODT
