It pointed to its DANO brand, which recently won “Most Loved Milk Powder” at the Best Brand Award in Bangladesh.
And this latest accolade fittingly summarises the growth journey Arla Foods is on in Bangladesh. While Arla said a yearly growth of around 10% has been the norm in recent years, 2021 exceeded expectations and delivered growth of 25%, driven primarily by the DANO brand with focus on early-life and family nutrition.
“Southeast Asia was our biggest region measured in growth last year. And even though we saw growth in all markets in the region, Bangladesh was the star of the show,” said executive vice president and head of Arla Foods International, Simon Stevens.
“And not only have we seen impressive growth numbers coming out of Bangladesh, we foresee this picture continuing in the coming years, which is why we given it a prominent position in our new five-year strategy, Future26, where building growth platforms, such as Bangladesh, is a key building block.”
DANO is the basis of Arla Foods’ portfolio in Bangladesh and the dairy cooperative’s most well-known brand in the country. The brand was the primary growth driver in 2021 and in spite of lockdowns and inflationary pressure the team in Bangladesh managed to increase sales and gain market shares, which is why DANO is now consumed in one in every three households in the country with a population of 165m.
“DANO has been a household name in Bangladesh since 1961. During these more than 60 years, the brand has been a part of stories, memories and journeys of millions of families. This latest accolade exemplifies Arla's commitment towards serving the community with quality and nutritious dairy products. I cannot but thank our consumers enough for the constant love and trust they have shown over these years. We are truly humbled and inspired,” said Peter Hallberg, managing director of Arla Foods Bangladesh.
The dairy cooperative said it is also looking to expand into new categories to secure long-term growth.
“There continues to be great growth opportunities for us within family nutrition but we are also establishing local production at a UHT factory, investing in that market as well. It should be seen as a natural extension of the fact that today we have the leading dairy brand with DANO,” Stevens said.
