To meet demand it has boosted the availability of its Anchor Dairy Foods’ range, increasing the number of stores it sells into from 1400 to 1700 in recent months and elevating the presence of its products on e-commerce platforms – a popular way of buying food items in China.
It also launched a mobile app campaign inviting users to share their favourite breakfast recipes using various dairy ingredients.
More than 8000 recipes were shared in December and January by shoppers who bought Anchor products.
About 70% of the recipes shared were Western-style dishes such as breakfast paninis and omelettes while 30% were Chinese-inspired dishes such as sweet potato cream soup, toast rolls with peanuts and cheese and egg breakfast cups.
“Breakfast as we know it is changing in China,” Fonterra’s greater China brands vice-president Chester Cao said.
Fonterra had supplied the breakfast products to the food service industry for many years but was now focusing more closely on shoppers, encouraging them to see dairy products as a healthy, protein-packed start to their day.
To promote dairy as essential, everyday breakfast food, Fonterra’s campaign also involved a number of chef demonstrations, including one by Michelin star holder Steven Liu who staged a cooking event in Shanghai in December.
The campaign also included digital advertising and activation with China-based food delivery app Eleme, which generated 89 million impressions among app users.
“It’s great to see a high level of engagement with our campaign and with our products,” Fonterra greater China president Christina Zhu said.
“It reaffirms that there is a growing appetite in China for more high-quality dairy ingredients.”
Data from China Customs showed imports for butter, cream and cheese all rose significantly in the first 11 months of 2016 compared with the year prior, with cream up 57%, cheese up 31% and butter up 21%.
“This increase in demand is significant.
“It’s driven by factors such as urbanisation, rising incomes and a greater desire for more premium items,” Zhu said.
