FrieslandCampina Russia Aims For Stronger Yoghurt and Dairy Drink Sales
Having recently improved the taste of its Campina Fruttis yoghurt and boosted sales, FrieslandCampina’s Russian business is now targeting growth in yoghurt drinks and strengthening its position in the chiller section of the large Russian supermarkets. FrieslandCampina Russia, which is part of the Dutch co-operative’s Consumer Products Europe business group, has two well-known brands in the Russian dairy market – Campina Fruttis and Campina Nezhny.
FrieslandCampina has been operating its own production site in Russia for ten years. The factory, with production lines for yoghurt, drinks and coffee creamer, is located in Stupino (100 kilometres south of Moscow). Marketing and sales operations are managed from the Moscow office.
During 2010, FrieslandCampina Russia concentrated on yoghurt, where the company enjoys good brand awareness of Campina Fruttis and Campina Nezhny yoghurt in large areas of Russia. Campina Fruttis has been marketed as ‘nutrition for vitality’ and Campina Nezhny as ‘value for money’.
The company’s yoghurt is a long-life product and does not need to be kept in the chiller section and in terms of taste is different from fresh products. FrieslandCampina Russia has successfully improve the taste and the quality of the product, incorporating the new ‘fruit basket’ taste, with twice as much fruit. The production lines have been modified so that they can operate with larger pieces of fruit.
FrieslandCampina Russia is now planning to target dairy drinks more emphatically in accordance with the parent group’s ‘route2020’ development strategy. The packaging of Campina Nezhny drink has been changed and the fruit basket taste has been introduced. Sales of Campina Fruttis yoghurt drinks have since grown significantly.
Traditionally, FrieslandCampina Russia has been strong in sales via traditional outlets, in the numerous smaller shops in Russia. The challenge is now to also build up a position in the chilled cabinets of the large modern supermarkets, which are also becoming more important in Russia. FrieslandCampina Russia has launched a TV campaign to promote the sale of its products.
