Fonterra: Anchor Makes its First Appearance in Ethiopia and Australia

28 Oct 2015 --- Anchor, New Zealand’s oldest dairy brand, has opened up new markets with its first consumer foray into Ethiopia and Australia with products geared to market needs.

Anchor Fortified Milk Drink is a milk powder specifically formulated to provide families in the emerging Ethiopian market with access to affordable high quality dairy nutrition. Across the Tasman, the new range of Anchor creams in Australia – Anchor Pure Cream; Anchor Thickened Cream; Anchor Light Thickened Cream – is aimed more to the country’s foodie and culinary culture.

Fonterra’s Global Brands and Nutrition Managing Director Rene Dedoncker says the ability to appeal in two very different markets shows the power of the Co-operative’s everyday nutrition brand Anchor.

“Whether it’s a mature or emerging dairy market, Anchor has a place to play and our product innovations allow us to pick the market position where Anchor is most likely to succeed, get early momentum and make a difference in people’s lives.”

Leveraging Fonterra’s world class dairy expertise to develop highly nutritious and top quality dairy products for new markets is a key part of the Co-op’s growth strategy said Mr Dedoncker.

“The launch in Ethiopia is an exciting opportunity with our first real move from a consumer brand perspective into Africa and gives us an opportunity for a future regional play. Ethiopia is the second largest population in Africa with close to 100 million people and the fastest growing economy in the world. However, despite the staggering economic growth more than 40 per cent of its population are malnourished and lack access to affordable nutrition.”

“In Australia the chilled cream category is worth over $300 million but in recent years there has been a decline in the number of shoppers purchasing fresh cream. We believe there is a big opportunity to get cream back on the weekly shopping list by motivating foodies to buy cream all year round and packaging it in cook-friendly formats.”
Ethiopia
Fonterra worked with the Food and Nutrition Society of Ethiopia to ensure that its Anchor Fortified Milk Drink provides children with the essential nutrients they may be missing from their daily diet.

One glass contains more than 30 nutrients that help a child’s growth and development, including protein, calcium, vitamins A and D, iron and zinc. These nutrients are deemed essential by the Food and Nutrition Society of Ethiopia as part of a recommended daily diet for Ethiopian children as they improve bone and tooth health and are important for muscle and nerve functions.

“Our Anchor Fortified Milk Drink is a highly nutritious product and we want it in the hands of millions of Ethiopian children. Affordability is paramount and we’ve partnered with local food processor Faffa Foods to ensure we keep costs low and get our product out across the country,” said Mr Dedoncker.

Using milk powder manufactured in New Zealand, Fonterra’s joint venture with local partner Faffa Foods means final production, packing and distribution of the new Anchor product can be accomplished in market at a much lower cost.
Australia
The new range of Anchor cream will be available exclusively in Woolworth’s supermarkets across Australia. This partnership, in conjunction with the 10 year contract to supply fresh white milk for Woolworths Select, helps to strengthen Fonterra’s partnership with the Australian retailer.

The range features an innovative bottle designed specifically for cooking. Bottles come in exact one (250ml) and two cup (500ml) sizes to help make following a recipe hassle free. Markers have also been added to the side of the bottle, just like butter, to ensure precise pouring and easy measurement.

“With a bottle designed specifically for culinary use, and with Fonterra’s experience in driving growth in the culinary market, we believe Anchor is beautifully positioned to capitalise on this opportunity in Australia,” said Mr Dedoncker.

New Anchor products have also recently been launched in Sri Lanka, China and New Zealand where the brand already has a strong foothold.

In Sri Lanka consumers are now enjoying the goodness of Anchor in a liquid format, complementing Anchor’s milk powder range. Anchor Liquid Milk is made with milk sourced from Sri Lankan dairy farmers and comes in a convenient one litre UHT pack.

Fonterra’s China business has recently launched the upgraded Anchor Skim Milk, aiming to change the notion that skim milk does not taste as good as whole milk.

And in New Zealand the popular kids’ yoghurt Anchor Uno which is now available in a pouch format is proving a hit with consumers. The three flavours that Anchor Uno is available in are outselling the main competitor in the pouch format which has nine flavours. Anchor Uno is growing market share in the kids’ yoghurt category and now sits at 66%.