Arla Foods has said that it sees "great potential" for growth in its biggest market in southeast Asia; Bangladesh.
The European dairy cooperative has sold products in the country for over 60 years, with Arla Foods Bangladesh being established in 2014.
Arla is owned by almost 9,000 farmers in Denmark, Sweden, the UK, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
The company's DANO product was recently named 'most loved full cream milk powder' at the Best Brand Award in Bangladesh for the seventh consecutive time.
Arla has reported annual growth in the Asian country of around 10% in recent years. However, the co-op had an exceptional performance in 2021 reporting a 25% increase in growth.
This was primarily driven by DANO, which is now consumed in one-in-every three households in Bangladesh where there is a population of 165 million.
“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," Peter Hallberg, managing director of Arla Foods Bangladesh, said.
Although DANO remains at the core of Arla Foods’ plans for Bangladesh, the dairy cooperative is also looking to expand into new categories to secure long-term growth.
Executive vice president and head of Arla Foods International Simon Stevens outlined:
“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.
“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.
“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,” Stevens said.
