Valio goes lactose free with milk powders to China

Finnish dairy co-op Valio has started to export lactose-free milk powders to China, which are the first lactose-free milk powders on the market.

Compared with the rest of the world, the Chinese do not use milk products that much yet. However, their usage is growing constantly and this is causing an increased awareness of lactose intolerance and its symptoms. It is estimated that at least 80% of the Chinese population is lactose intolerant.

Valio is the world’s leader in lactose-free dairy, having launched the world’s first totally lactose-free milk drink in Finland in 2001. Since then, the company has developed a complete range of lactose-free dairy products that extends beyond 100 items.

Valio sees significant opportunities in the highly competitive Chinese consumer market but warns that initially, exports will be small.

The company has a long tradition in China. It has been exporting milk and whey powders there for industrial use since 1991. Since 2008, Valio has had a Chinese subsidiary, with most of its customers in the baby food industry.

The Chinese market is unusual in that online sales have a larger turnover than anywhere else in the world, where over 10% of retail sales are generated online. Valio had sales of €1.7bn in 2015 and processes almost 2bn litres of milk. The group made a net profit of €13m.