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Synlait Milk (Synlait) is a New Zealand-based company combining expert farming with state-of-the-art processing to produce a range of nutritional milk products for our global customers that provide genuine benefits for human health and wellbeing.
Synlait has a long-held relationship with China. Bright Food Group (otherwise known as Bright Dairy), a multinational food and beverages manufacturing company headquartered in Shanghai, entered the Synlait family in 2010, establishing our relationship with China. Bright Dairy remains a committed shareholder of Synlait, owning 39% of the company’s shares while occupying four Board seats.
Synlait established a physical presence in China in 2014 as a founding member of Primary Collaboration New Zealand (PCNZ).
Synlait’s first China employee gained residency in Shanghai three years later. Synlait’s China presence has since grown. We established our subsidiary in mid-2019 and today have offices in Shanghai (focused on business development) and in Beijing (focused on market access).
Synlait employs eight people in China and appointed Abby Ye as President of China & Director of Foodservice in early 2023, elevating the region’s presence to our Executive Leadership Team for the first time.
Synlait’s product reach into China has grown considerably. In less than ten years, Synlait and The a2 Milk Company have built a strong and trusted infant formula brand in China, the world’s largest infant formula market (estimated at $47 billion in retail sales).
The a2 Milk Company China, labelled a2 至初® is by far the largest New Zealand-produced China-labelled infant formula product and represents a majority of China-labelled infant formula products exported from New Zealand.
Synlait was thrilled to launch the JOYHANA UHT whipping cream brand in China in 2022. The brand is a partnership between Synlait and SAVENCIA Group. The ultra-heat treated (UHT) cream, manufactured at Synlait’s Canterbury-based facility, has been specifically developed for Chinese foodservice professionals. The JOYHANA product has excellent yield, stability and flavour suitable for decoration and filling. It aims to help every chef experience the joy of creating masterpieces, with the tagline – Creating Joyful Moments Together!
While doing business in China has come with enormous opportunities, it has also presented challenges, especially in respect of regulations and language, and of course, most recently, a global pandemic. Our teams in China and New Zealand have worked hard to build strong relationships with Chinese regulatory authorities to enable us to align and overcome these challenges.
New Zealand was the first developed country to sign a FTA with China and Synlait and its customers have benefited from the advantages associated with this. These benefits were only realised with the hard work and understanding between teams in both countries as we jointly support and collaborate at all levels.