Thai-Danish maker eyes 7% sales growth

He added that Thai-Danish, known to consumers by its red-cow logo, remained the No 1 brand in the UHT (ultra-high temperature treated) milk market because of its rich and pleasant taste. The company selects high-quality milk from healthy cows and does not add any powdered milk to its products. 
The company says it will be more aggressive in its marketing and hopes to generate Bt9.05 billion from milk sales this year. It expects commercial sales will account for Bt8.06 billion of this while sales to schools total Bt986 million. Overall, sales will be up by 7 per cent if these targets are met. 
“We are confident of achieving this goal thanks to our high-quality products and our uniqueness, without the addition of powdered milk. Natural cow’s milk has a high volume of natural calcium, which can be efficiently absorbed and used by human bodies,” Narongrit said.
He added that the total value of the UHT milk market in 2016 was Bt16.6 billion, the second-largest segment or 26.6 per cent of the total Bt62.5-billion milk market in Thailand. The general milk segment is worth Bt11.2 billion while the rest is functional UHT milk. 
DPO is No 1 in the UHT milk market with a 45-per-cent share, and enjoyed 4-per-cent growth last year.
To raise awareness among consumers about selecting milk with full natural benefits, DPO has prepared a TV commercial called “Milk Box”, which communicates the benefits of natural cow’s milk without additional powdered milk. The commercial encourages consumers to look for the “no powdered milk added” symbol. 
The campaign is also aimed at health-conscious consumers who look for natural food with the least possible seasoning. Besides television, the message will be communicated through cinema adverts and digital media.
Moreover, DPO will strengthen its cooperation with major retailers and restaurants such as McDonald’s, Doi Kham, MaxValu, Villa Market and Golden Place in order to have its Thai-Danish UHT milk on their shelves or as ingredients in their menus. To that end, there may be joint promotional campaigns. 
DPO also plans to enter other segments, such as yoghurt and pasteurised milk.
To achieve the 7-per-cent growth target, DPO will continue the marketing activities that it believes have strengthened its leadership. 
“We will continue to maintain our strong position as the producer of 100-per-cent fresh cow’s milk without additional powdered milk,” Narongrit said. 
“We will continue our leader’s role in supporting the development of raw-milk quality standards and production standards … which will in the end lead to significant improvement of the entire milk industry.”