Arla has arrived in Algeria

Following its entry into the Chinese market, Arla’s next strategic commitment within the milk powder area is in Algeria. A few days ago, the Dano brand arrived in stores in this North African country, one of the world’s largest milk powder markets.

Brand Manager Michael Lundtoft, Executive Director Frede
Juulsen and Regional Manager Niels Erik Larsen.

”Like the rest of North Africa, Algeria is a growth market which has been overshadowed by developments in Asia,” Frede Juulsen, Executive Director, BU Milk Powder, says. ”The country has a large milk consumption and domestic production cannot cope with demand. We, therefore, see great opportunities to develop an interesting business here.”

The push into Algeria is part of the strategy of channelling milk powder into profitable brands rather than selling it as a commodity product. Dano arrived in stores in Algiers a few days ago and will shortly be available in the cities of Oran and Setif. In early March, the launch will be followed up by an advertising campaign on TV, radio, newspapers and on posters on buses. Focused on health values, the campaign also includes the distribution of 90,000 samples.

”Regardless of whether you’re a parent in Sweden, Denmark or anywhere else, your ambitions are the same. You want to feel secure and you’ll do everything you can for your child’s development,” says Frede Juulsen. ”On the basis of our focus on food safety, and the high quality of our products, we can contribute to just that. I’m confident that our expertise will help us develop the entire market.”

Algeria’s milk consumption is rising to the tune of 8 per cent per annum and totals approx. 3.5 billion kg. Retail packed branded powder products account for approx. 0.6 billion kg, which ranks Algeria among the world’s five largest markets for milk powder. Local production, however, only meets approx. 10 per cent of demand. As the Algerian market has, in recent years, become more accessible, several new international players have established themselves here. Both international and African suppliers usually buy their milk powder from foreign producers and market them under their own brand names.

”Arla is unique in the market in that the company is owned by milk producers,” says Anwar Mahfoudhi, head of Arla’s operations in Algeria. ”The fact that our milk powder comes from our own cows and is always processed at the same dairies means that we can guarantee consistently high quality. Arla’s more than 100-year history, coupled with an innovative approach, are other important factors behind our confidence in Arla’s future in the Algerian market.”

The first Dano products are offloaded from eleven containers.

Country Manager Anwar Mahfoudhi.

FACTS Algeria, Africa’s second largest country, has a population of 32.9 million. It is five times the size of Sweden and 55 times the size of Denmark. Algeria’s Gross National Product is increasing by 5.5 per cent – compared to 3.2 per cent in Denmark and 2.7 per cent in Sweden. The country has substantial reserves of oil and natural gas. Arla Foods Ingredients has five employees in Algeria. The office is located in the city of Algiers. The company’s partner, DIMO, looks after distribution and sales. Dano is marketed in 500g bag-in-boxes and 125g bags. The products are produced at Akafa in Denmark. Dano is Arla’s regional brand for milk powder in the Middle East and Africa. Milex is the global brand for the rest of the world. The only difference between the products is the name. The Asian markets, however, have a greater variety because demand for added value and specific properties are greater there than in the Middle East and Africa.