On the shelf of a supermarket in Tianhe, the reporter saw a number of brands of low-temperature milk displayed on the shelf. The staff told reporters that in recent years, more and more consumers have bought low-temperature milk, even in winter, there are many buyers. At present, the sales of normal temperature milk still accounts for a large proportion, but the proportion of low temperature milk sales has increased significantly. Ms. Xie, a citizen who buys low-temperature fresh milk in the supermarket, told reporters that considering the preservation of nutrients in low-temperature milk, they are aiming at this point of consumption.

The reporter logged on to an instant retail platform and found that the low-temperature fresh milk brand increased a lot than before. In addition to Weiji, Xiangmanlou, Chenguang, Mengniu Daily fresh language, popular, Yantang, Yili Jindian, there are foreign brands, including Junlebao, Baifei cheese, New Hope Today's fresh milk shop, Youci, Tianrun, etc., including New Hope and other regional milk enterprises with low-temperature milk advantages in southwest China. Reporter survey found that compared with the previous high price, now the low temperature milk price has a considerable advantage, 946ml of fresh milk even as low as 3.9 discount, popular low temperature fresh milk 946ml is only sold at a discount of 6.9 yuan/box.

Bocom International data predicts that the compound annual growth rate of low temperature fresh milk will reach 12% from 2022 to 2027. And it is expected that white milk will experience the trend of high-end, and from normal temperature milk to fresh milk. Consumers switching from room-temperature milk to fresh, high-quality milk will push up average selling prices. Nielsen IQ data show that in the first half of 2023, domestic low-temperature milk sales increased by 2.9%, New Hope Dairy's business income increased by 10%, and Vipdairy's income increased by more than 30%.

China's low-temperature milk, especially low-temperature fresh milk, has been occupied by regional dairy enterprises for a long time in the past, and the new hope is to occupy the southwest market, and popular and fragrant buildings are "words" in the South China market. However, with the bright performance of low-temperature milk in recent years, regional milk enterprises have been attracted to plan for the national low-temperature milk market. The pattern of product differentiation competition between national and regional dairy enterprises has been broken, and a new round of competition has been opened.

Xi Gang, chairman of New Hope Dairy, said in an interview with the media that "it is expected that the proportion of low-temperature milk in China will exceed 50% in about five years." A number of industry insiders said in an interview with reporters that the current Chinese dairy market is transitioning from normal temperature milk to low temperature milk.

What is cryogenic milk?

At present, the low-temperature milk mentioned by the public is divided into pasteurized milk and super-pasteurized milk. Pasteurized milk is a liquid milk that is sterilized by pasteurization (heating at 72-90 ° C for 10-15 seconds). This sterilization method can maximize the retention of nutrients and active substances in fresh milk. According to the latest draft for comments, normal temperature milk is heated to at least 132 ° C and maintained at least 4s sterilization in the continuous flow of milk, after filling and sealing, heated to at least 116 ° C and maintained for at least 20 minutes; The sterilization temperature of super pasteurized milk is between pasteurized milk and normal temperature milk, and the outer packaging is generally marked with "high temperature pasteurized milk".

The reporter's investigation learned that more nutritious and healthier has become the "label" of low-temperature milk and has also become an important reason to attract consumers. Dairy industry expert Song Liang told reporters that due to the different degrees of sterilization technology and temperature control, the active substances and nutrients of milk such as immunoglobulin, lactoferrin, etc., the best to retain is pasteurized milk, which can reach more than 90%, and super pasteurized milk can retain more than 70%.

The momentum of the low-temperature milk plate is regarded by many people in the industry as the second growth curve of domestic dairy companies. The low-temperature milk market has ushered in a new development outlet, and will become the main battlefield of domestic milk competition in the future. It is estimated that the scale of the low-temperature dairy industry is expected to reach 160 billion yuan in 2025.

From the perspective of the industry chain, pasteurized milk is limited by the milk source and cold chain cost conditions, and the sales radius is limited, generally speaking, the shelf life of pasteurized milk is within 5-7 days. The cost of rapid distribution within about 300 kilometers of the milk source is relatively reasonable, but if it is far from the milk source, the cost will increase significantly. Song Liang said that in order to achieve long-term development in the low-temperature milk market in southern China, a coordinated layout of farms, factories and consumer markets is essential. Milk source, sterilization technology, how many natural active ingredients can be retained in milk after sterilization, and how long the shelf life of the product are the contest points of low-temperature products, and they also cast the moat of pasteurized milk. At present, in order to seize the market share of Guangdong low-temperature milk, Junlebao has planned to invest 3 billion yuan in Jiangmen to build a South China base, and the main products include low-temperature fresh milk, low-temperature yogurt, low-temperature milk drinks and so on. It is reported that Yili, Mengniu, bright and other head milk enterprises have set up factories in Guangdong region to produce low-temperature milk.

"We are making every effort to strengthen the layout of low-temperature milk in Guangdong, focusing on the middle and high-end market from the product." Focus on Shenzhen and Guangzhou first, and then expand to peripheral markets, and have initially completed the relevant layout of peripheral markets in 2023. Specific to the channel, the convenience store system is mainly used to improve product coverage, and at the same time, the power of near-field e-commerce. In 2023, we have achieved high growth in the Greater Bay Area market." The new Hope dairy industry, which has just entered the Guangdong low-temperature milk market in the past two years, told reporters so.

"Guangdong is the national dairy enterprise layout of low-temperature milk 'military', is the most fierce competition market, Guangdong population base is large, with consumption potential." Mr. Wu, a senior industry insider engaged in dairy industry in southern China for decades, told reporters. However, for more regional dairy companies, it is undoubtedly risky to invest rashly in a highly competitive market. New Hope Dairy's careful layout in this regard may be the "epitome" of more regional dairy companies. The reporter learned from the New Hope dairy that the low-temperature milk currently sold in the Guangdong market is produced by Hunan Nanshan Dairy and uses ESL production process.

Song Liang said that ESL process is super bar milk. Compared with pasteurized milk, super pasteurized milk in low temperature milk is more expected to become the mainstream product in the future, its nutrients and active substances can be preserved, the shelf life can reach 15 to 20 days, and the sales radius is expanded. The volume of normal temperature milk will gradually decline in the future, and for dairy companies, super bar milk is an excellent "starting point" for them to quickly enter the field of low temperature milk.

However, at present, there is no formal national unified standard for such products in China, and most dairy companies implement enterprise standards. Recently, the Food safety National Standards Review Committee on the "Food safety National Standard High temperature sterilization milk" (draft) for public comment. Its content is covered in the "pasteurized milk" national standard project, it is clear that high temperature pasteurized milk refers to only a single variety of raw milk as raw materials, using high temperature sterilization and other production processes to produce liquid products. However, it is not clear whether Chaoba milk products can be labeled as "fresh milk". Some dairy company technicians believe that "super pasteurized milk" actually belongs to the category of pasteurized milk, but the technology is different, the active substance content is different, and the current draft for comments still needs to be further discussed on the standard setting of sterilization temperature and sterilization time.

Source: Guangzhou Daily