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Spring Sheep CEO Nick Hammond attends the Maternity, Baby and Child Expo in Shanghai, China.
photo: Source: Spring Sheep
A New Zealand goat milk company has scored a major victory in China – having its infant formula brand registered.
It is the second international goat milk brand in the world to be granted this direct market access.
The agreement allows Waikato-based Spring Sheep to import and distribute infant formula directly into China – which will increase export volumes in the long term – and comes after two very challenging seasons, with chief executive Nick Harmon saying the deal was “significant and exciting”.
Spring Sheep has 15 suppliers milking a total of 15,500 ewes and expects 25,000 lambs to be born next month.
Hammond attended the Child, Baby and Maternity Expo (CBME) in Shanghai, the country’s largest maternal and infant exhibition, where Spring Sheep Infant Formula was launched directly to potential end users.
He said brand registration provides direct access to the $28 billion infant formula market.
“Prior to receiving this registration, we were only able to sell our infant formula through limited online channels and only in English.
“The brand has received unanimous praise from consumers through these channels and has become the second best-selling brand of its kind in China, second only to the world’s largest goat series.
“With this registration, we can directly import and distribute infant formula with Chinese labels within China, which accounts for the vast majority of the market share.”
Brand registration, which takes years to complete, gives the company a direct connection with the Chinese government, which Hammond said allows it to continuously supply the entire Chinese market, which is much more stable than online channels. “This is a real game changer for all companies, especially Spring Sheep.”
Spring Sheep’s distribution partner in China is Neptune Foods, which is part of one of the country’s largest pharmaceutical groups.
Hammond said brand awareness would be driven around the story of New Zealand grass-fed goat milk and linked to the company’s special Zealandia sheep.
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