KUALA LUMPUR: Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd is strengthening its lead in supplying milk to household by expanding into hotels, restaurants and caterers (HoReCa) market.
Dutch Lady Malaysia marketing director of consumer dairy Ramjeet Kaur Virik claimed that Dutch Lady PureFarm is currently the No.1 brand in the ready-to-drink ambient category with more than 50 per cent share.
“There is still room for growth. We see a lot of value-added dairy products among the HoReCa market. Many college students and the young working adults are consuming increasing cups of latte, cappuccino and mocha; which use considerable amount of milk,” Ramjeet said in a recent interview with NST Business.
Dutch Lady Malaysia was the dairy sponsor at the Café Malaysia 2019 and leveraged on this platform to introduce its milk offerings to investors in the HoReCa market.
"As restaurateurs and cafes expand their network, We see room for growth in milk consumption, too," she said.
Ramjeet highlighted that Kantar Worldpanel in its November 2018 survey had showed that Malaysia's per capita milk consumption amounted to just 12 litres, which is less than the global average.
"The Malaysian Adults Nutrition Survey 2014 revealed that adults are only consuming half a glass of milk per week when the Malaysian Dietary Guideline recommends two to three glasses per day," she said.
With rising concerns of non-communicable diseases in the world such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cancer, it is important to raise public awareness on the importance of getting proper nutrition.
Ramjeet said milk should be part of Malaysians healthy and balanced diet and helps to build and maintain healthy bones and teeth. Milk contains protein, calcium, iodine, vitamins B2 and B12, phosphorus and potassium.
Since 2015, Dutch Lady Malaysia has been hosting educational activities to school children on the importance of eating balanced diets that includes milk and doing physical sports daily.
"We aim to introduce from young for Malaysians to adopt healthier lifestyles – and to address the growing concerns of obesity and malnutrition," she said.
"Currently, we're supplying milk to more than 1,500 school canteens throughout Malaysia as teachers and parents see the benefits of milk when compared with sugary and carbonated drinks," she added.