Milkmen to defend milk

Источник: The DairyNews
On May 23, there was held the final event of the business program of the X Dairy Olympics the round table “Milkmen to defend milk”. The event, organized jointly by The DairyNews and the Russian Dairy Research Center (RDRC), set a goal to develop a strategy for the promotion of milk and dairy products.

The media and social networks are now discussing the dangers and benefits of milk and dairy products. Public organizations for the protection of consumer rights accuse producers of total falsification of dairy products, "green" Scientific production associations and representatives of the vegan movement impute farmers with animal abuse. The reputation of milk and dairy products in the eyes of consumers is under threat. Ignoring statements and actions against farmers and dairy producers exacerbates the problem of growing distrust to milk and the dairy industry. The topic found a lively response from the participants of the round table and resulted in one and one-half hour dialogue.

Participants and experts of the dairy industry from 15 countries of the world have analyzed the situation in the market and formulated a number of key problems:

1. The loss of consumption culture of dairy products
2. The image of a cheap product
3. Inability of the industry to fight
4. The loss in the information war
5. Lack of access to knowledge about the benefits and role of dairy products in human nutrition
6. Black PR for milk and information attack on the industry
7. The conservatism of the industry: the lack of new products
8. The lack of associations defending the industry

The market is a battlefield, and the consumer, choosing meat, milk or other product, "votes" with a purse. Milk is initially necessary product with the most optimal composition and a set of trace elements for human consumption; in this regard the industry has a good basis for the development of the consumption culture of these products, including the growth of the population of all countries of the world.

The dairy market is conservative and it needs to learn to produce new products, to look for new approaches, to see new opportunities.

According to the participants of the round table, information on the properties of dairy products and the development of dairy production should be delivered to the consumer in a single format from all market enterprises. If earlier the usefulness of milk was axiomatic, today everything that refers to milk is positioned as not useful and often harmful to all categories of consumers. Access to information, issues of combating aggressive information policy, according to one of the proposals made during the round table, can be formed at the expense of the online community of experts.

The discussion also touched upon lobbying structures in the dairy industry. According to market participants, today the industry should have a single Association of milk producers with a consolidated budget and a well-formed strategy for the promotion of dairy products. According to the players, the promotion plan in the media, social networks and more modern aggregators is extremely important for a clear understanding of the contribution of industry participants in product promotion.

Today, the information war is lost by the dairy industry due to conservatism and the lack of real consolidation. Producers and processors of milk live on their own and in the short term without planning horizons. However, most players are ready to change it.

The participation of the state in the promotion of dairy products has become a pressing issue. Most of the experts agreed that while the role of the state in the fate of the industry is large enough, it is impossible to completely reject cooperation with the authorities in the matter of promotion. In particular, it is due to the fact that milk and dairy products are important components of the food basket of the population of the Russian Federation.

The market players believe that education of consumption culture of quality dairy products since childhood is really important. An example of a positive tool in this case is the program "School milk". However, as noted by the participants taking part in the round table, it is important to listen to the consumer, to keep up with him and to release to the market the products meeting the demand. Milkmen are sure that the consumer wants quality and interesting food.
30.01.2024
В России наметилась устойчивая тенденция сокращения поголовья коров: их количество снижается ежегодно, а в 2023 году достигло исторического минимума. The DairyNews обсудил с экспертами отрасли причины уменьшения молочного стада в России. Участники рынка поделились мнением о происходящем и рассказали, как избежать катастрофических последствий для производства молока, молочных продуктов и говядины.
Читать полностью