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Fonterra has opened its fifth application centre in China, in the southern city of Shenzhen. The co-op says the new centre will focus on the development of beverage applications.
The new facility is equipped to design innovative solutions for China's "competitive beverage market".
“Many of China’s leading beverage customers are headquartered in Shenzhen, where new ideas flourish due to the city’s young population and innovative environment," said Fonterra Greater China CEO Teh-han Chow. “We see great potential in combining Fonterra's high-quality dairy products with the rich flavours of Chinese beverages. This fusion is sure to create some exciting new products that will delight both consumers and industry players alike.”
Last year, 1,434 new kinds of non-alcoholic beverages were launched in China by key tea and beverage brands. Fonterra expects new product launches that successfully combine traditional tea ingredients, dairy and fruit to drive sales growth in the country.
“The Shenzhen application centre provides a new platform to explore the diverse use of Fonterra products in beverages and provide innovative application solutions to meet the local needs of Chinese consumers,” added Teh-han. "We see great potential in combining Fonterra's high-quality dairy products with the rich flavours of Chinese beverages. This fusion is sure to create some exciting new products that will delight both consumers and industry players alike."
He continued: “We must be more agile and continue to develop our capabilities to produce cutting-edge solutions that add value to our customers' businesses. As a New Zealand company deeply rooted in China for 50 years, we want to play an active role in the industry, integrate ourselves into the local innovation ecosystem, and empower the high-quality development of the whole value chain.”
The centre will house a dedicated team of experts and experienced chefs, to help create an interactive, experiential space for customers to create products, offering development seminars, demonstrations and virtual live teachings.
In addition to beverage solutions, the new centre will also focus on bakery applications – similarly, the co-op's four other facilities will have beverage application capacity.
Fonterra's other four application centres are located in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu.
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