September 12, 2012

 

 

As part of its expansion plan, PT Greenfields Indonesia, a joint venture between Indonesian and Australian companies, has added cheese to its business production lines, making the company the only mozzarella manufacturer in the country.

 

Greenfields, best known for its line of fresh milk products of the same name, recently launched its block mozzarella on the retail market after the cheese made its debut during a food exhibition in Bali last March.

 

The company, which started the cheese business to cater to hotels and restaurants, is now serving hypermarkets and supermarkets, according to AustAsia Food Pte. Ltd. head of marketing and sales Jan Gert Vistisen. AustAsia is Greenfields' distribution company.

 

"We decided to produce mozzarella because a lot of it is consumed here. Consumers know about mozzarella from pizza and other Italian food," Vistisen said at Greenfields' compound in Malang, East Java.

 

"Our cheese production volume is still small, but the value is quite interesting. We also export the mozzarella to Singapore and Hong Kong," he added, declining to disclose the figures.

 

The next cheese product in line for launch is bocconcini or small mozzarella balls. Greenfields would launch the bocconcini in the fourth quarter of 2012 and would distribute it first to food service businesses, Vistisen told The Jakarta Post.

 

The privately owned company also plans to offer shredded mozzarella in the near future and aims to produce 100 tonnes of cheese this year. Greenfields expects a 20% increase in revenues from all of its products by the end of 2012, according to Vistisen.

 

At the moment, the company produces between 20-25 million litres of fresh milk and 10 million litres of ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) processed milk annually at its Malang facilities, which consist of a farm and a factory.

 

The farm currently houses 6,000 Holstein calves, heifers and cows. Some of them are imported from Australia, while others are locally bred.

 

The latest importation took place last July when Greenfields brought 300 cows from Australia. "We only import cows from Australia. We don't have any plans to import more this year," Vistisen said.

 

The company sells about 40% of its milk in Indonesia and exports 25% each to Singapore and Hong Kong. The rest goes to the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar and Cambodia.

 

Of the products distributed on the Indonesian market, about 55% goes to the retail market and 45% to the food services sector, Vistisen said.

 

"Our strategy is to focus on the retail side now. The retail share of the pie is growing all the time. Last year, the retail market accounted for 50% of our Indonesian market," he added. Greenfields saw a surge in sales as the Indonesian, Singapore and Hong Kong markets grew by 20% last year.