Newsletter 10/2009
Lactose-free milk conquers USA market
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Valio’s milk drink is well place for success on the US market, which is very similar to the Scandinavian. In the USA fresh, refreshing milk is highly appreciated and many milk products are also used in the country.
“Our biggest competitive edge is the taste. You won’t find a similar lactose-free product on the USA market,” say executive vice president Veijo Meriläinen.
Starting with milk
Valio Real Goodness TM has made a record-breaking entry into the product ranges of almost all the retail chains along the East Coast. The product is available in 3,200 stores, i.e. about 75 per cent of the shops in the start-up area.
The target for the first year is to achieve comprehensive coverage of the stores in the targeted market area and a
The milk drink, which came on sale in Finland in 2001, is on the market in 11 countries besides the USA.
market share of more than 20 per cent in the product segment. In five years’ time the product is expected to have exceeded a turnover of 100 million dollars.
If the objectives are achieved, we will expand the market area geographically and launch our other products in the country,” Meriläinen says.
Increasing demand
“Starting business in the USA is an important and unique major opening for Valio. The opportunities are enormous,” Meriläinen emphasises.
The demand for lactose-free products is increasing all the time. According to estimates, about 20 per cent of the population suffer from lactose intolerance. Along the East Coast alone some 12 million of its 60 million inhabitants have lactose problems.
Valio Real Goodness business operations are the responsibility of the Healthy Dairy unit of Valio USA. The milk drink is produced by a family company, Byrne Dairy, which is based in the state of New York. The expertise needed for producing the product was exported to its dairy by Valio.
“We’ve never built business operations using this concept before. It’ll be interesting to see how we get on,” Meriläinen says.
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