INVEST NI TEAM SEES HOW NEW ZEALAND REVITALIZED MILK SALES

Dairy industry leaders from Northern Ireland have been briefed on how entrepreneurial New Zealand businesses have revitalized milk sales through highly innovative beverages focused on healthier lifestyles. The delegation, part in an Invest NI organised 10-day benchmarking visit to New Zealand, visited func.nutrition at Auckland to be briefed by Neil Macintyre, the driving force behind the successful business which has achieved 112 per cent revenue growth over the past 24 months. They also visited A2 Milk, another Auckland company, which identified a milk protein, beta-casein A1, that could benefit those with diabetes and coronary heart disease. The briefings could stimulate new product development in Northern Ireland and strategic partnerships with businesses in New Zealand, key objectives for Invest NI which aims to assist local companies grow through the development of innovative products for export. At func.nutrition, Mr Macintyre told the group: "This is an industry that does not have many small to medium size consumer product and market innovators in New Zealand." The group included senior managers of Dale Farm, Belfast, Fane Valley, Armagh, Pritchitt Foods, Newtownards, Fivemiletown Creamery and the Ulster Farmers Union. Tim Acheson, general manager, manufacturing at Lakeland Dairies, owner of Pritchitt Foods, commenting on the visit to func.nutrition, said: "To hear from Neil how New Zealand functional food projects evolved from concept through to commercialisation was very interesting. func.nutrition's business model allows it to focus its skills on product development whilst its strategic business alliances allow for commercialisation across the globe." func.nutrition, which launched the successful Sun Latte fresh milk drink, aims to produce growth in this area while helping consumers achieve their nutritional needs. Mr Macintyre said: "Milk consumption has dropped in this country and many other developed countries in recent years for a number of reasons. We aim to remind people that milk is in itself an entire meal and a good way to prepare for and recover from high energy sports." His aim is to ???make milk cleverer than it already is.??? func.nutrition targets its products at consumers who want extra nutrition to complement their active, healthy lifestyles. To achieve this, it developed the Sun Latte brand, a nutritious fresh dairy milk created by removing water and lactose. The result is milk that is low in cholesterol, has almost twice the calcium and protein of standard milk, and contains less fat and lactose than trim milks. The company has now turned its focus to sports performance beverages, creating drinks to help athletes during the build-up and recovery processes of competition. func.nutrition has completed development work on 23 highly innovative dairy milk beverages and is currently securing commercial relationships with global partners. Potential export markets include Europe, the Americas and the fast-growing Asian consumer base. ???With its life-boosting qualities and ability to be quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, milk is an obvious choice as a base for development,??? Mr Macintye said Dr Andrew Clarke, chief strategic and scientific officer with A2 Corporation, explained the background to A2 milk where the natural protein, beta-casein A2, has been naturally maximised. DNA testing of cattle confirms which cows produce only A2 milk. Potential benefits of A2 milk are in lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 1 diabetes and also promotion of child health. Following a joint venture with Freedom Nutritional Products in Australia last year, sales of the product has now tripled.