Valio’s lactose-free milk drink enjoys international success
ValioValio launched the world's first lactose-free dairy drinks onto the market in 2001. By the end of 2009, the company's patented lactose-free milk beverages are sold already in 12 countries.
- The demand for lactose-free milk products has grown continuously. Meeting that demand we have had to extend our production significantly. On the other hand investments in the marketing of the lactose-free products have been small. The product has sold itself in all the markets, says Matti Harju, Vice President of Technology Innovations at Valio.
In 2009, Valio's lactose-free milk beverages' annual turnover increased to more than 100 million Euros. The company exports lactose-free products made in Finland from Finnish milk to Sweden, France, the Baltic Countries and Russia. The product has been licensed to Norway, Spain, Switzerland and South Korea. Valio's latest conquest has been the United States. The lactose-free milk drink was launched on the east-coast market in August 2009.
There is a real demand for lactose-free dairy products. For example, approximately 12 million consumers on the east coast of the United States suffer from lactose intolerance while in Asia the majority of the adult population is lactose intolerant. In Finland about 17 per cent of the population is lactose intolerant.
- There is a great deal of potential for growth, although competitors have already begun to appear in these bigger markets, says Harju.
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