Olam Food Ingredients to open new dairy processing plant in New Zealand

“As we continue to expand our dairy production capabilities and innovation infrastructure, the new plant in Tokoroa will be part of a global network covering major milk consuming markets such as Southeast Asia, China, the Middle East and Africa,” says Sandeep Jain, Managing Director and CEO of the dairy business of Olam Food Ingredients. “Our dairy business is well positioned to meet growing demand from our global customer base and co-create innovative applications at scale, allowing for greater focus on value-added opportunities across our portfolio.”

The company expects this will help meet customer needs for innovation, traceability and sustainable sourcing.

Capacity expansion

The new facility was recently completed after a two-year construction process. In the next investment phase, Ofi will expand the company's capabilities to develop high-quality dairy ingredients.

The company also plans to explore ways to add value to its milk, providing greater profits to its farmer partners while achieving its ambitions to produce ingredients in a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable way.

“The new plant also complements a number of improvements made to the OFI dairy plant and Ingredient Excellence Center (IEC) in Johor, Malaysia back in September, which combined with our Customer Solutions Center in Singapore allows us to co-create customized solutions in food and beverage area for our customers,” adds Jain.

With IEC, the company expects to more than double its production of functional dairy ingredients and full-fat milk powder.

Product Application

The dairy ingredients produced at the Tokoroa plant are part of OFI's natural ingredients portfolio, including cocoa, coffee, nuts and spices. The company sees potential in combining these natural ingredients with dairy products to create customized products such as yogurts, protein bars, ready-to-drink teas, coffees and cocoa drinks.

“The dairy ingredients we now produce are nutritious and versatile, with the texture and taste we desire. They can be used in many applications, from ice cream and yogurt, baked goods and confectionery to coffee, tea and cocoa drinks,” says Naval Sabri, senior vice president of dairy products at OFI.

The new facility also supports OFI's global presence, strengthening partnerships with its clients and strengthening regional co-creation opportunities.

Naval Sabri emphasizes: “The enthusiastic response we have received from local farmers shows that our partnership approach and OFI’s global reputation as a leading dairy ingredient supplier and innovator have resonated with them.”

Dairy Tracks

OFI emphasizes that the new plant gives customers the opportunity to source ingredients from New Zealand's high-quality dairy pool and become a partner in sustainability initiatives, which is a core focus of the company.

In October, the company published Dairy Tracks, its first sustainability strategy for its dairy business. This strategy outlines OFI's approach to sustainability efforts across the value chain. It highlights how OFI will address industry challenges by directly supporting the company's farmer partners to help them become more socially and environmentally sustainable by 2030.

For example, sustainability intelligence company OFI's AtSource platform links farmers' environmental plans, greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient reports to its clients, providing visibility throughout the supply chain.

The company notes that this allows its customers to track directly sourced products, providing transparent visibility into the origins of those products and their sustainability impact at every stage of the value chain.

At the new plant, OFI plans to commission a biomass boiler at the beginning of 2024. Since this boiler will be powered by sustainably sourced wood waste, it will help the power plant make milk processing energy efficient and low cost.

Earlier this year, the company similarly installed two new boilers at its European cocoa processing plants, which run on cocoa pellets - a by-product of the production process - to generate steam for processing ingredients.