First Product Launched in China Since Bright Dairy & Synlait Milk Partnership

Bright Dairy acquired a 51% share of Synlait Milk one year ago and has since worked with the New Zealand dairy company to produce a high quality and safe infant formula for Chinese families.

Nov 22 2011 --- Bright Dairy part-owned Synlait Milk, based in New Zealand, will deliver wholly-imported infant milk formula to China by mid-December. In three weeks time Bright Dairy will launch its “Pure Canterbury” infant formula in Shanghai. The “Pure Canterbury” product manufactured by Synlait Milk using milk from the premier dairy region of Canterbury, New Zealand, is expected to retail at the premium end of the Chinese market.

Bright Dairy acquired a 51% share of Synlait Milk one year ago and has since worked with the New Zealand dairy company to produce a high quality and safe infant formula for Chinese families.

The Synlait Milk and Bright Dairy partnership takes advantage of Synlait Milk’s access to highly regarded milk supply from New Zealand farms that meet the exacting standards set by Synlait Milk, while Bright Dairy’s expertise in China’s distribution channels and its understanding of what Chinese families require for a premium infant formula will ensure the partnership is a success, says Bright Dairy.

Synlait Milk officially opened the largest and most sophisticated infant nutritional plant in the Southern Hemisphere today. The New Zealand Minister of Trade, the Honorable Tim Groser, represented the New Zealand Government at the opening, along with the Agriculture Minister, Honorable David Carter and Food Safety Minister, the Honorable Kate Wilkinson. More than 300 guests, including Bright Dairy representatives, celebrated the opening of the $100million state-of-the-art facility.

The New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Regional Director China, Rod MacKenzie, says the Bright Dairy-Synlait Milk partnership is an excellent example of how China and New Zealand can work together.

“The Chinese market is significant for New Zealand and once again we see the remarkable contribution dairy exports have made for the bilateral trade relationship between our two countries. New Zealand is committed to bringing safe, reliable dairy product for Chinese consumers with the highest standards of safety and quality.”

Synlait Milk CEO Dr John Penno says the growing demand from Chinese families for high-value formulated milk powders designed to improve families’ normal diets and protect against health concerns was the company’s major focus.

Over the last two years Synlait Milk had grown from a milk powder ingredients business into a value added nutritionals company.

Today’s opening also unveiled Synlait Milk’s new corporate brand which will reposition the company as a global nutrition business and differentiate it from its New Zealand competitors, says Dr John Penno.

“Repositioning our brand has been driven by the progression of Synlait Milk from start-up to the leading nutritionally focused dairy company in New Zealand. Our new tagline ‘Milk Nutrition for a Modern World’ is all about us innovatively meeting consumer demand for premium nutritional milk products that support health and wellbeing,” he says.