Speaking at Gulfood Manufacturing 2014, Dennis Jönsson, president/CEO, Tetra Pak, gave a presentation on Powering Innovation in Food Processing and Packaging.
The Market-Milk Industry
He said the challenge of today is feeding a global population that is ever more demanding, and with 9.6bn people by 2050 (statistics taken from The United Nations), sustainable food systems are at the top of everyone’s agenda, and the dairy sector will play a crucial role.
To make his point, he quoted authors Chester Roadhouse and James Henderson who wrote a book in the 1950s called The Market-Milk Industry where they describe milk as ‘the most nearly perfect food’.
“We need to provide diversified dairy products. It’s not just about the taste but the complete package; how it looks, how easy it is to use, how it fits into a person’s lifestyle, how it makes them feel,” he said.
“To address consumer trends we need to do four things; product differentiation, reducing system cost of operations, environmental requirements and attaining and ensuring food safety.”
According to Jönsson, Tetra Pak sees innovation in several areas; creating ideas for growth, focusing on the product portfolio, added value products to meet consumer needs, savings for growth, processing and packaging, and service offerings that provide savings for all of us.
He said now is the time to highlight joint activities for customers to protect their brands and raise their profile.
Disposable incomes
“Global demand for dairy will rise significantly, driven by economic growth, urbanization, a rise in disposable incomes, and a rising middle class in developing markets,” he said.
“More families want milk in their daily diet. According to the Tetra Pak Diary Index last month, global consumption will rise by 36% by 2024 and 212bn litres to 223bn in 2016.
“We are set to see a boom in the demand for dairy products, mainly fuelled by emerging nations such as Africa, India and China, they have triggered much of the demand. At the same time, this growth has seen an increased pace in urbanization.
“The Nigeria population is expected to grow by 20m people by 2018 providing a high potential for market growth. The Middle East represents a huge opportunity as well - growth for liquid milk will rise by 52% in Saudi Arabia alone by 2024.”
Jönsson added, we are witnessing a new generation of educated consumers who ‘ask simply for the best’.
“For the first time, low income households can afford to buy more, these consumers are tomorrow’s middle class. They aspire to have the same products, experiences and services as those in major cities even though they are not affordable to them today,” he said.
“We need to cater to the nutritional needs of these consumers without compromising their food or quality.
Improve bone health
“Products have to meet specific health and lifestyle needs that bring benefits such as improve bone health, immunity, stand out in appearance, general well being, and to fit their busy lifestyles.
“On-the-go consumption has risen in the past five years. People rely on products and services to help save time, the industry has to produce a range to help people manage their health and lifestyle needs, the trend has driven an array of products on the market designed not to break, resealable and easier to handle and drink from, including our own Tetra Prisma Aseptic.”
The Tetra Prisma Aseptic carton package has an eight-sided shape and is made in firm, packaging material for products such as fruit juice,iced tea, energy drinks, water.
Its prismatic shape stands out on the shelf and comes with a variety of openings and straws. The package can include a strawhole, PullTab or StreamCap opening.
Jönsson added MENA is one of the most dynamic regions of today and the economic population is set to increase to 30% by 2030 with more people moving to urban areas.
“More than 28% of locals here are aged between 15-29 and they will become the middle class consumers of tomorrow. The road ahead is full of opportunities but it is critical that we meet some of the challenges that lie before us,” he said.