HOHHOT, China, June 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This week, Yili Group, Asia's largest dairy company, will participate in the 14th Global Dairy Congress, which will be hosted virtually from June 22-24, 2021. This year's annual event will focus on the latest trends in the market, brands, innovation, in particular those which are having an impact on the dairy industry. Set to be held under the theme of "Sustainable Future", the 2021 Congress will discuss solutions for feeding the world sustainably and fostering sustainable innovation, with attendees including industry leaders, top innovators, and analysts worldwide.
Yili Group prepares to share its ideas on innovation at the 14th Global Dairy Congress
During the sessions at the congress, many of the world's leading dairy companies will present their key ideas and insights, including Yili as well as Arla, Danone, Fonterra and Nestlé, among others. As the only speaker from China, Dr. Zhanyou Yun, Assistant President of Yili, will attend the keynote session on industry leadership where he will deliver a speech entitled "Driving innovation and branding".
As Asia's most successful dairy brand, Yili has rapidly established a strong reputation among its customers and suppliers worldwide. Committed to the idea of "No innovation, no future", Yili has become a leading dairy innovator, in particular by investing heavily in research and development (R&D) and establishing an extensive global network. In 2019, Yili ranked among the top three dairy producers in terms of patent numbers registered globally. Together with its partners across the industry chain, Yili is also promoting "smart dairy" through digital transformation. In addition, Yili has maintained its leading industry position despite the downturn in the global economy and even achieved record growth in the first quarter of 2021.
During the event, participants will also see the winners announced for all 20 categories of the World Dairy Innovation Awards, which is widely recognized as the industry's longest and most established awards program. The scores given to the candidates will be based on innovation. This year, the panel of judges is assessing how candidates' innovation efforts are contributing to sustainability.
"Ideally, innovations should contribute to a sustainable diet for people in the future," said Dr. Carolien van Loo-Bouwman, Innovation Manager at Yili Innovation Centre Europe, who is a member of the judging panel. Aside from highlighting a science-proven health benefit or how the nutritional composition of a product has been improved to fit into healthier diet patterns, the judges are also looking for marketing campaigns for new food products that showcase how they are empowering people to pursue healthy lifestyles.
The 2021 shortlist of finalists showed that Yili led the tally with 9 nominations in total, covering a broad range of categories from best products to best marketing initiatives. In the 2020 contest, Yili's Xujinhuan Frozen Yogurt Ice Cream won "Best ice cream/frozen yogurt" while the company's JoyDay was recognized for "Best packaging design".
