Stirring up the market: Indonesia’s Greenfields expanding stirred yoghurt range in SEA
Stirred yoghurt is made when fermentation is carried out in bulk and not in individual containers.
Once the fermentation reaches the desired level, the yoghurt is pumped through a cooler, before any fruit is added or flavouring stirred in.
In Singapore, there are two products available, in plain (no added sugar) and original (sweetened) flavours.
Jasmine Lim, regional marketing manager for dairy at Greenfields Dairy told FoodNavigator-Asia that the firm saw an opportunity to introduce high quality yoghurt into the region. Japfa is the parent company of Greenfields.
“We are a dairy company with more than 20 years of experience in dairy farming, and producing milk, whipping cream and cheeses. We want to launch more quality dairy products, so after studying the market, we see opportunities in enter the yoghurt category.”
Instead of fresh milk, some yoghurt manufacturers use milk solids which requires the addition of water. This in turns lowers the quality of the product.
Stir it up
Greenfields stirred yoghurts are made from fresh milk sourced from its own farm, and contain fibre and live bacteria cultures, lactobacillus bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophilus to maintain good gut health.
Greenfields is an integrated dairy business, operating two farms in East Java, Indonesia, with some 18,000 cows. Its manufacturing facility is also located in East Java. The company controls the feed, processing, manufacturing and packaging, ensuring full traceability of its dairy products.
It currently exports milk and dairy products to Singapore, Hong Kong, Brunei, Malaysia and Myanmar.
According to Lim, the company is seeing potential to introduce its stirred yoghurts into Malaysia, Hong Kong, and other South East Asian countries.
Markets
Available in 500g and 1kg sizes, the stirred yoghurt products are retailing at online grocery site Redmart, and selected supermarket chains FairPrice and Cold Storage in Singapore.
Lim said the plain and original variants catered to both consumers and the food service business.
In Indonesia, the stirred yoghurt range also include flavoured variants such as strawberry, blueberry and mango.
The company has also recently launched drinking yoghurts. “We launched into the kids’ yoghurt product category in Indonesia with Greenfields Kids RTD Yoghurt in 150mL bottle in November 2020 and Greenfields Kids Stirred Yoghurt in 80g squeezable pouch in January 2021.”
Partnerships
Parent company Japfa is involved in the business of animal proteins, ranging from poultry, beef to pork, aquaculture and dairy products.
Headquartered in Singapore, it operates farming, processing and distribution facilities in Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, India and China.
Japfa is set to sell 80% of its dairy business to global investment firm TPG and private equity investor Northstar Group, while holding onto 20% of Greenfields Dairy Singapore, which is the holding company of Japfa’s Greenfields dairy business.
The transaction is expected to be completed by February 2021.
In a statement, Japfa’s CEO Tan Yong Nang said: "The group's dairy business has grown considerably in recent years both in China and South-east Asia and there is potential for further growth,
This strategic partnership with TPG and Northstar (will help) accelerate the next phase of development in South-east Asia through their strong track record of developing consumer and retail businesses."
