The session opened with Luc Morelon, director of Lait & Milk and former communications director of Groupe Lactalis, who gave a presentation called ‘A global approach to communicating dairy values’. Luc had the previous evening been recognised for his outstanding contributions to the world of dairy with a Zenith Dairy Award.
Merete Myrup Christensen, head of nutrition for Arla Foods amba, Denmark, followed with a presentation called ‘Repositioning dairy in the global health debate’.
The session closed with Winnie Pauli, director of diet and health for Danish Agriculture & Food Council, considering ‘A collective approach to dairy marketing’.
The second session was entitled ‘Latest in product development’ and opened with Geoff Platt, editor of FoodBev Media’s Dairy Innovation magazine, who gave an entertaining and informative presentation called ‘Dairy innovation: past, present and future?’.
Richard Walton, manager – research & development for Japan’s Meiji Company Ltd, then discussed ‘Dairy innovation that works’. Ad Juriaanse, CEO of NIZO Food Research, Netherlands, then considered ‘Global opportunities for innovation’. The session closed with a look at ‘Cheese: reinvigoration through innovation’ by Tom Ellis, insight & strategy director at UK-based brand strategy specialist 1HQ.
The conference closed with some ‘Market insight workshops’, including a panel session on ‘Shifting trade patterns’, considering the impact of price volatility on commodity markets. The panel featured:
The final plant tour of the Congress saw delegates visiting Unimilk. One of Russia’s largest and most modern dairy sites, Unimilk’s Petmol is the oldest established dairy processor in St Petersburg. The modern plant produces a wide range of dairy products, including drinking and spoonable yogurt, smoothies and curd desserts, pasteurised and UHT milk, cream, sour cream and kefir.
Bill Bruce is group editorial director of FoodBev Media. You can contact him here
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