NZ goat formula co-op targets China and US with new partnership

By Penny Miles of RNZ

A New Zealand goat infant formula co-operative is eyeing expansion to customers in China and the United States.

The Dairy Goat Co-operative (DGC) has 55 farmer shareholders in Waikato and Taranaki, with 240 people employed at its Hamilton manufacturing base.

It has announced a new partnership with Chicago-based AGR partners for its “high-value niche product”.

The dollar figure of the deal remains commercially sensitive.

The Dairy Goat Co-operative pioneered goat milk infant formula, with development and commercialisation in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

“One of our main prerequisites for getting the capital in is that we didn’t want to change the co-operative structure,” chief executive Alastair Hulbert said.

Clinical tests can be required to clear costly compliance hurdles when entering new markets.

“It’s quite expensive to enter new markets, particularly China and the US.

“This will give us the capital to build faster in those markets without having to compromise returns to our farmers.”

Hulbert said some consumers select goat milk products over cow’s milk infant formula for health benefits.

The company said it was easier to digest, and that goat milk formula could prevent eczema in babies: “We’ve now got that robust clinical research,” Hulbert said.

“We’re tracking 2300 babies from birth to 5 years of age, and it’s being run by a prestigious university called LMU in Munich.”

The Dairy Goat Co-operative’s trade with Taiwan dates back to 1989.

That was followed by expansion into Thailand and South Korea.

This story was first published on rnz.co.nz