Bord Bia has won a new €3.2 million contract to promote dairy in Asia for three years on behalf of the European Union.
The ‘European Dairy – Where Nature Meets Science’ campaign, which will commence in June, 2025, aims to position the EU as a leader in the supply of value-add dairy ingredients to specialised nutrition manufacturing sector across China, Singapore and Vietnam.
Ireland will be promoting the campaign on behalf of the EU 27, allowing Bord Bia to spotlight Ireland’s wide product portfolio and scope to provide bespoke innovative dairy-based solutions across China, Singapore and Vietnam, three priority Asian markets with a combined dairy import value of €16.2 billion per annum.
Bord Bia CEO Jim O’Toole, said, “Winning this campaign is testament to the grass-fed and sustainable nature of Irish dairy production. It is also in recognition of Ireland’s commitment to sustainability and innovation, ensuring that Irish dairy ingredients meet the highest standards of quality and safety. EU co-funded campaigns are a vital means of putting Ireland on the global stage as a food producer. Our focus will be the building new relationships between Irish exporters and local manufacturers of these higher value consumer products as well as the importers and distributors in China, Singapore and Vietnam that serve them.”
Ireland’s dairy exports are the largest single element of total food and drink exports with over 1.7 million tonnes of product shipped globally to over 130 markets each year.
Mr O’Toole added: “Demand for dairy and dairy-based products is increasing in China and Southeast Asia. These markets are heavily dependent on imports of specialised dairy ingredients that will be used for domestic manufacturing. This represents an opportunity for Irish dairy exporters from the EU to grow their operations in these markets through collaboration on research and development expertise and co-creation of added value products.”
Irish dairy exports to China, Singapore and Vietnam were worth over €458 million euro in 2023.
Bord Bia’s Future of Dairy in Southeast Asia report shows that the population of Southeast Asia is predicted to grow by a further 100 million by 2050. The report notes that Southeast Asia will continue to rely on dairy imports in coming years and that domestic production levels will remain low.
Declan Fennell, Bord Bia’s Senior Manager for EU co-funded Programmes, said he was pleased to see Ireland at the forefront of marketing campaigns aimed at building the profile of European Dairy in China, Singapore and Vietnam, which are priority markets for dairy exports.
“Promoting dairy campaigns with the EU gives Ireland immediate access to some of the top buyers of dairy in these countries and affords us an opportunity to show Ireland as a best-in-class example of EU dairy,” he said. “We do this by communicating the tangible benefits of Ireland’s national sustainability programme, Origin Green, our grass-based farming systems and family-run farms. This campaign will target thousands of dairy buyers and allow us to communicate Irish dairy’s position as ideal partners in the global dairy industry while also strengthening the business relationships Irish dairy exporters have already developed with stakeholders in these countries.”
The business to business focused dairy campaign aims to raise awareness of the positive attributes of dairy ingredients from the EU, while increasing trade recognition of the ‘Enjoy! It’s from Europe’ message. It will also highlight at a technical level the EU dairy sector’s cutting-edge technology in terms of product range and innovation.
Commencing in June 2025, a series of campaign launch events will take place in China, Singapore, and Vietnam. This will be followed by a delegation of dairy specialist buyers traveling to Ireland over the summer months. The latter part of the year will focus on technical seminars and an EU dairy stand at the Food Ingredients Asia trade show in Bangkok from September 17th– 19th, 2025.
This significant funding was secured with the support of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, highlighting the collaborative efforts to promote Irish dairy on a global stage. Bord Bia and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will co-manage the programme for the duration of the campaign.
