Ofi set to meet growing global dairy demand with new manufacturing facility in New Zealand

17 Nov 2023 --- Olam Food Ingredients (ofi) opened the first phase of a new dairy processing plant in Tokoroa, in the Waikato region of New Zealand. The facility will produce whole milk powder and other dairy ingredients to meet growing demand, focusing on dessert, bakery, beverage, and confection applications.

 “As we continue to expand our dairy manufacturing capabilities and innovation infrastructure, the new Tokoroa plant will become part of a global network that spans major milk consumption markets, such as South-East Asia, China, the Middle East and Africa,” says Sandeep Jain, managing director and CEO of dairy at ofi. 

“Our dairy business is well positioned to serve increased demand from our global customer base and co-create innovative applications at scale — driving additional focus on the value-added capabilities within our portfolio.” 

The company expects it will help address customers’ demands for innovation, traceability and sustainable sourcing.

Expanding capacities 
The new facility was completed recently after a two-year construction process. In the next investment stage, ofi will add further capacity to the facility to develop high-value dairy ingredients, expanding its offering. 

The company further plans to examine ways to grow the value of its milk, generating better returns for its farmer partners while delivering on its ambition to produce ingredients in a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable way. 

“The new plant also complements a suite of enhancements made to ofi’s dairy production facility and Ingredient Excellence Centre (IEC) in Johor, Malaysia, back in September — which, combined with our Customer Solutions Center based in Singapore, enables us to co-create bespoke food and beverage solutions for our customers,” adds Jain. 

With the IEC, the company expects more than double its functional dairy ingredients and fat-filled milk powder output. 

In the next investment stage, ofi will add further capacity to the new facility to develop high-value dairy ingredients.Product applications 
The dairy ingredients produced at the Tokoroa plant are part of ofi’s natural ingredients portfolio, including cocoa, coffee, nuts and spices. The company sees the potential to combine these natural ingredients with dairy to create customized products, such as yogurts, protein bars, ready-to-drink tea, coffee and cocoa beverages. 

“The dairy ingredients we’re now producing are nutritious and highly versatile with a desirable texture and flavor. They can be used in many applications from ice cream and yogurts, bakery goods and confectionery items, to coffee, tea and cocoa beverages,” says Naval Sabri, senior VP of dairy at ofi. 

The new facility also supports ofi’s global footprint, driving customer partnerships with its customers and strengthening its regional co-creation capabilities. 

Sabri highlights: “The enthusiastic response we’ve received from local farmers shows that our partnership approach, and ofi’s global reputation as a leading dairy ingredients provider and innovator, has struck a chord with them.”

Dairy Tracks 
Ofi highlights that the new plant presents an opportunity for customers to source ingredients from New Zealand’s high-quality milk pool and partner on sustainability initiatives, a core focus for the company. 

In October, the company published Dairy Tracks — its first sustainability strategy for its dairy business. This strategy outlines the approach ofi takes with its sustainability efforts across the value chain. It highlights how ofi will meet industry challenges, directly supporting the company’s farmer partners to help them become more socially and environmentally sustainable by 2030. 

For example, ofi’s sustainability insights platform, AtSource, links farmers’ environmental plans, greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient reports to its customers to provide transparency across the supply chain. 

The company notes that this offers traceability to its clients for directly sourced products, providing a transparent view of these items’ provenance and sustainability impact at each step of the value chain. 

At the new plant, ofi expects to commission a biomass boiler at the beginning of 2024. As this boiler will be fuelled by sustainably sourced wood residue, it will help power the plant to make milk processing energy efficient and low impact. 

Earlier this year, the company similarly installed two new boilers in its European cocoa processing factories, which are fuelled by cocoa shells — a by-product of the production process — to generate steam to process ingredients. 

Edited by Jolanda van Hal