Fonterra creates virtual dairy farm experience in Singapore

Green pastures dotted with dairy cows are familiar sights for most New Zealanders, but are less common in other parts of the world.

So curious about what life is like on a New Zealand dairy farm, delegates at the recent NIZO Protein Dairy Conference in Singapore donned virtual reality headsets to step briefly into the dairy farm virtual world.

Fonterra’s General Manager of NZMP Ingredients for South & East Asia, Hamish Gowans, said that the virtual dairy farm experience was an exciting and innovative way to bring to life the New Zealand story of lush pastures, cared-for cows and finest dairy.

“With their headsets projecting 3-D images of a typical dairy farm environment, complete with sounds, delegates were able to get a sense of the origins of our dairy ingredients – a new experience for many.”

NZMP was a sponsor of this year’s conference, which brings together global food industry representatives to discuss growing opportunities in the milk protein market. 

“Fonterra is well known for its whole milk and skim milk powders, but companies may not be as familiar with our higher-value, more advanced ingredient solutions. The conference provided us with a great opportunity to speak to potential customers about our wide range of high-value ingredients.”

Mr Gowans said that more consumers are looking for specific nutritional benefits in their foods, especially turning to protein for the benefits of muscle maintenance and recovery, as well as weight management.

“The global protein ingredients market is poised for huge growth as more consumers seek healthier diets. This means protein-fortified foods are becoming more mainstream, moving away from its typical use by the likes of bodybuilders and top level athletes.”

The Co-op’s NZMP ingredients customers use protein in a wide range of food and beverage products including cheese, beverages, yoghurts, snacks and other nutrition products.

“We are always looking to help our farmers get more value out of every drop of milk. Growth in our NZMP ingredients business helps to deliver higher returns for our farmers and meet the needs of our consumers and customers worldwide,” said Mr Gowans.