The move is seen by the company as a way to strengthen its ingredient sales operation in the Asia Pacific market.
Morinaga Milk says that the demand for dairy products has been developing in Southeast Asia, and they state that the need for better infant nutrition is driving the demand for higher quality ingredients.
The company began its global expansion in 1972 with the establishment of Milei in Germany. It exports products including probiotics, lactoferrin and whey protein to infant formula manufacturers.
Morinaga states that it expects to establish a strong presence in the area with its probiotics, lactose, lactoferrin, whey protein and hydrolysates for use in nutritional products both locally and globally.
Singapore a focal point
Ko Shiino, general manager of international department said that “Singapore is now becoming a focal point for major global infant formula manufacturers and raw material suppliers as a location to strengthen their sales activities in Southeast Asia and Pacific Rim countries, thus we selected Singapore for the base of our ingredient sales activity in the region.”
He added that the location would enable the new subsidiary to serve customers faster to meet growing market demands.
“Our ingredients, such as probiotics, whey proteins and hydrolysates have been used in our own various food products with great success in Japan for many years, and have also been sold as raw materials overseas,” he noted.
Moringa Milk, which employs more than 3,000 people in Japan, Germany, China, the Netherlands and the US, achieved net sales of $5bn in 2015.