BY PAUL TENTENA
KAMPALA, UGANDA- Milk production in Uganda has reached over 2.2 billion litres a year according to Dr. Rose Okurut the Assistant Commissioner Animal Health in Ministry of Agriculture.
She says of the 2.2 billion produced, 80% is marketed while the rest is consumed at homes. “Of the 80% that is marketed, only 37% is processed and the rest go unprocessed,” said Okurut while officiating at the function where Fresh Dairy rebranded all its yoghurt products.
Okurut said they target 100% milk processing hence calling upon other investors globally to come and invest in the sector.
Fresh Dairy, the producer of a wide range of dairy products in Uganda was re-branding all its yoghurt as part of its strategy to satisfy the constantly changing customer needs while increasing its market share both in Uganda and the East African region at large.
The newly re-branded Fresh Dairy Yoghurt according to Vincent Omoth the Marketing Manager, comes in five flavours that include Strawberry, Vanilla, Mango, Plain and the latest addition – Mixed Berries. “Fresh Dairy yoghurt which is popular for its thickness, creaminess, aroma, flavours and natural taste will now be packed in various sizes ranging from 450g, 250g, 150g to 100g cups,” said Omoth.
Oliver Mary Marketing Director Fresh Dairy said they recently installed a fully automated yoghurt plant that processes and packs all the yoghurt they produce with minimal human contact.
“The yoghurt plant which is worth an investment of 1.4 million dollars has a capacity to handle 80,000 litres of Yoghurt daily,” said Mary.
Mary said all the milk used in their newly re-branded yoghurt is sourced from Ugandan farms only, totaling to approximately 30,000 farmers that they work with. “To ensure quality control, all milk received from farmers is subjected to mandatory tests.”
He said they produce yoghurt but their business interest is the health and nutrition benefits for the end consumers of our products.
“To this end, Fresh Dairy encourages the consumption of 1-Yoghurt-A-Day among children and adults as an ideal nutrition booster rich in Vitamin A, B, D, E, Calcium and Potassium,” stressed Mary.
Mary further noted that in order to heighten the continuous consumption of yoghurt among Ugandans, they have reasonably priced the newly re-branded high quality yoghurt to Recommended Retail Prices.
“We have also intensified our distribution channels to ensure that consumers countrywide have access to the newly re-branded yoghurt in Shops, Duukas, Kiosks, Supermarkets and Tricycle Agents,” said Mary.
He said they will continue to roll out various new products within the next one year to further satisfy consumer needs. He called upon Ugandans to try out the new yoghurt flavours that will be marketed across several media channels to include Print, Radio, Television, Outdoor and Digital platforms as well as trade, market and supermarket activations.
