As in many other areas in the world, the population in Korea is ageing, and the birth rate is declining. As a result of this shift in demography, the sales of Maeil Dairies’ main product, powdered infant milk, was declining.
Maeil Dairies saw an opportunity and developed their portfolio to match the nutritional needs of the ageing population. To develop a truly beneficial product, they focused on the one nutrient that Koreans lack the most.
“7 out of 10 Koreans are calcium deficient. Calcium is an important nutrient for bone health in Koreans, but the intake was widely insufficient. To meet this need, we launched the Golden Milk, a milk calcium product for seniors,” explains Juhyun Park, Product Manager at Maeil Dairies.
Valio’s lactose free ingredient helped add digestive comfort
Maeil Dairies chose Valio as the partner and dairy ingredient supplier in developing their new senior nutrition product. One of the main objectives was also to have lactose free formula as a product concept, as they wanted to maximize the digestibility of the product in senior consumers.
“Valio is a world-class pioneer as the developer of lactose free products. We were confident that we can have a successful launch by working with Valio. We have been able to launch high-quality products. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Valio for their dedicated assistance,” Park says.
As the base for their product, Maeil Dairies used Valio Eila™ NUTRI F+ lactose free formulated milk powder. It is specifically designed to address the nutritional needs of older people. In addition to the ingredient, Valio experts also provided help with optimizing the recipe and making the most of the benefits of the NUTRI F+ product.
Targeted marketing is proving efficient in the sales of the senior nutrition product
As the COVID19 pandemic has given rise to unprecedented growth in ecommerce, Maeil Dairies decided to focus selling the Golden Milk product online. Many elderly people are not comfortable using online purchasing channels, so the company launched a marketing and sales campaign targeted at the 30- to 40-year-olds who buy the product for their elderly parents.
“We made a gift set for Family Month in May and created an advertisement that reminds us of our parents to induce purchases,” says Parks.
Valio Eila™ NUTRI F+ is ideal for many senior nutrition applications
The next step for Maeil Dairies is to further develop the product range targeted at senior citizens. Valio Eila™ NUTRI F+ has a neutral yet rich flavour and pleasant texture, so it is ideal for many applications.
“Currently, we have released a product that can be mixed with water, and we plan to launch a variety of products such as ready-to-drink type and jelly type. Through this, our goal is to ensure that calcium is no longer the most deficient nutrient in Korea,” Park says.
IMAGES pile of milk powder: Valio | customer products: Maeil Dairies
