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LUXLAIT INSPIRES CHINA After discovering the Luxlait production site, which is unique in Europe, and its Vitarium, an educational and learning space dedicated to milk, the Chinese expressed a desire to replicate the Luxlait model in their own country. Luxlait is looking at exporting its expertise to the heart of Asia.
“Our requirements, the quality monitoring system in operation here, may be useful in China” Claude Steinmetz (Luxlait)
Text: Sébastien Lambotte
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o you know that Luxlait exports products to China? Just over a year ago, it began regularly exporting UHT milk, which has a one-year shelf life, and other milk derivatives to the Middle Kingdom. Customers of the Luxembourg dairy cooperative include Henan province. Last June, the CEO of Luxlait, Claude Steinmetz, visited the beautiful Chinese province in a bid to strengthen their existing commercial links. He took this opportunity to sign an agreement to start talks on the possibility of helping the Chinese develop a local milk processing plant. “Luxlait owns a plant which is unique in Europe, based on a high quality cooperative production model. At our facility we can process milk in every possible way, into fresh products, UHT derivatives, in liquid or semi-liquid form, such as yogurts, fromage frais, etc. We also specialise in niche markets, manufacturing ethnic products that meet the demands of the Turkish community in Germany for example, and Arab populations across Europe,” explains Claude Steinmetz. China appears to have only recently discovered the beneficial effects of milk, launching awareness raising campaigns among its population and seeking solutions to meet demand. The consumption of dairy products is rising sharply across the world’s most densely populated country. This represents a great opportunity for Luxlait to export to China. “The Chinese are also interested in our expertise in premium quality dairy production, along the whole chain from cattle rearing to processing to marketing,”
says Claude Steinmetz. “After discovering our model, the know-how we have developed over the years (Luxlait was founded in 1894 – editor) and our plant, they expressed a wish to benefit from our expertise and experience.” The agreement signed by Luxlait has paved the way for discussions. Now Luxlait has to decide whether this opportunity can become a reality and what form the project will take. “Nothing has been settled yet. But it could be an interesting opportunity to harness our expertise and diversify our income for the benefit of our breeders.” It may seem surprising that China should put its trust in a small player like Luxlait, which processes and markets only 130 million litres of milk a year. Impressed by their rigorous production processes, China, which recently had to deal with a tainted milk scandal, hopes to be able to replicate the Luxlait model in their own country. “We have no plans to produce milk in China. Other much bigger players have ambitions to set up business there. But we can leverage our expertise, make it useful to the Chinese market,” says Claude Steinmetz. China is expected to rapidly become one of the world’s biggest milk producing countries. “We cannot know for certain that our niche
products will match the expectations of the Chinese market, which is less mature than in Europe. But upstream of production, requirements such as quality monitoring go to the very heart of any breeding programmes that may be set up over there.”
A unique educational tool China’s interest in Luxlait also extends to its Vitarium, a unique educational and learning space around the subject of milk, which incorporates the production site. Using 45 interactive exhibits, this space is both an educational gem and a fantastic direct marketing tool, particularly amongst the younger population. It promotes milk and its benefits, as well as covering every aspect of production from breeding through processing to presentation. Emphasis is placed on the importance of drinking milk. Indirectly, it showcases Luxlait and the quality of its processes and products. “China is keen to reproduce this sort of attraction and wants to use our expertise to help with this. Obviously a larger Vitarium would have to be developed, on a scale in keeping with the size of its population. But it can be done,” concludes Claude Steinmetz. .
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