In a move which will involve the production 115,000 bottles of fresh milk daily, Woolworths’ private label milk supplier, Fonterra, has poured A$31 million into improving and expanding its Victoria dairy production facility, dairyreporter.com reports.
The Australian arm of Fonterra initially joined forces with the grocer to supply its private label milk last year, agreeing a lucrative ten-year contract.
The move will increase the output of milk, as well mean a modernisation in the way the milk is packaged: induction-sealing will be employed, which is beneficial in that the product is sealed after the container has been filled and capped, which allows for freshness-retention and leak-prevention.
The New Zealand-based dairy producer said, “Last year we approaches Woolworths with a plan to build a state-of-the-art facility that would bring fresh innovation to fresh milk. Woolworths shared our vision, and together we formed a ten-year partnership that would help us bring it to fruition. With the security of that ten-year partnership Fonterra made a multimillion-dollar investment into this amazing facility.”
Ewan Shearer, Woolworths’ merchandise manager for chilled products, commented that the supermarket chain is “delighted that as a result of the contract Fonterra has the confidence to make investment in Victoria which benefits not just the industry, but also our customers.”
He added, “The new plant will deliver customer innovations like packaging benefits including induction seals that ultimately mean a better product on the supermarket shelf and in the fridge at home.”
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
