On April 11, adopting a cow released the "A2 Protein Dairy Industry Trend White Paper" (hereinafter referred to as the "White Paper"), and the mainstream dairy companies have changed from volume nutrition to wrestling milk sources. The relevant person in charge of adopting a cow told the Beijing Business Daily reporter that the group currently has more than 80,000 dairy cows, of which more than 20,000 are A2 cows.
Industry analysts pointed out that at present, dairy companies are caught in the A2 milk single product war, which means that enterprises need to invest more R&D and marketing resources, but due to the lack of relevant national unified testing standards, they may face a situation of product scuffle.
The ancient city, located on the west bank of the northern section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period at the earliest, after several vicissitudes, in 1961, it was replaced, and is now assigned to Hengshui City, which is famous for its rich agricultural and sideline product resources. On April 11, 2024, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily followed dozens of media into Convoy Animal Husbandry in the north of Gucheng County, where in the milking hall, a group of Holstein cows wearing smart collars were "on duty" in the rotary milking machine, and fresh milk flowed into the milk tank along the vacuum pipeline.
According to the person in charge of the ranch, there are 11,000 Holstein cows in this ranch. There are 8 farms like this in the country, with more than 80,000 cows, including more than 20,000 A2 cows. According to Sullivan's market data research, the sales of A2 β-casein milk products adopted by a cow last year have reached the first place in the country. As of October 2023, a total of 400 million bottles of A2 beta-casein milk have been produced by adopting a cow.
According to the white paper, from 2018 to 2022, the average growth rate of the number of new A2 milk products is 151% in China and 27% in the world.
Many people are first introduced to A2 dairy products due to the addition of A2 beta-casein to milk powder. As the name suggests, A2 β-casein is processed from milk produced by A2 cows. Regarding the role of A2β-casein, Man Chaoxin, a professor at the College of Food Science of Northeast Agricultural University, said that A2β-casein has a higher digestibility, is conducive to nutrient absorption, and has the advantage of improving intestinal health, so it is more and more favored by consumers.
In line with the quality upgrading needs of dairy consumers, the concept of A2β-casein is becoming a growth driver for the market, and new product innovation, marketing and social media are all on the rise. According to the white paper, the GMV growth rate of A2 white milk category is higher than that of the dairy market: the transaction volume of A2 products on Douyin increased from 3.8e+ to 4.6e+, a year-on-year increase of 21%, which is higher than the GMV growth rate of the dairy market (20%).
According to the forecast of market research agency Market Research Future, the market size of A2 liquid milk will reach 26.9 billion US dollars (about 188.3 billion yuan) by the end of 2030.
With the discovery of the nutritional value of A2β-casein, various dairy companies have carried out in-depth research and product line development of A2β-casein. For example, Weigang Dairy recently launched Zhichun A2 β-casein fresh milk, claiming to contain 4.0g of protein (A2 β-casein content ≥ 10g/L) and 120mg of virgin calcium per 100mL, and Tianrun Jiali launched A2 β-casein pure milk, claiming to contain 3.8g of protein (A2 β-casein content ≥0.9g/100mL) and 120mg of virgin calcium per 100mL. In addition, leading enterprises such as Yili and Mengniu, regional dairy enterprises such as Wandashan, Feihe and Sanyuan, imported brands such as A2 and emerging brands such as Adopt a Cow have launched A2 liquid milk products.
At the beginning, dairy companies competed in the A2 protein content of A2 milk. For example, the new Xiaoxianyu A2β-casein light fresh milk is labeled as A2 β-casein ≥ 9.7g/L, the A2β-casein content in Mengniu Select Ranch A2β-casein pure milk is 8.1g/L, and the A2β-casein in Jindian A2 organic pure milk product is 9g/L.
With the layout of mainstream dairy enterprises from dairy cow genes, feeding, production to channel sales of the whole industry chain, the wrestling of milk sources is more obvious. According to data, only 30% of the world's dairy cows are A2 genotype cows, and the milk produced is rich in A2 β-casein. White Paper It lists the upstream layout of several major dairy enterprises in the upstream of A2 milk, such as Yili Jindian A2 β-casein milk produced from limited organic pastures, which is certified by China and Europe as organic, Mengniu three calf pastures raise A2 genotype cows, and A2 β-casein milk source is exclusively for its DNA milk and 30 minutes before bedtime; Wandashan selects high-quality A2 milk sources from limited pastures and lays out China's first organic A2 liquid milk product Heiwo series; a2 brand uses patented DNA testing technology to select A2 cows to ensure that the milk produced by them contains pure A2 protein; adopts a cow to lay out the whole A2 β-casein industry chain, and A2 milk has become the brand's largest single product line。
Under the A2 milk tuyere, due to the lack of national unified testing standards, many brands have their own faction, and there are not a few products with marketing gimmicks, which has become a major contradiction in the development of the industry. Song Liang, a senior dairy analyst, said, "In the past two years, the sales of dairy products such as white milk and fresh milk have been sluggish, and this year has begun to show a downward trend. Competition is also fierce for A2 type milk. But in the medium to long term, A2 milk must be promising, and consumer demand for quality is still there."
A reporter from Beijing Business Daily searched for "A2 milk" on Tmall, Jingdong and other platforms and found that many brands added labels such as "scarce", "affinity" and "easy absorption" to their propaganda to stimulate consumers' desire to buy. For example, Mengniu Three Calf Soft Milk claims to use EHT enzymatic hydrolysis technology, adding lactase to decompose lactose in milk, focusing on the three major scenarios of "you can drink it on an empty stomach", "you can drink it hot and cold", and "lactose is intolerant and drink it at will". However, up to now, there is no clear conclusion that type A2 milk is more "friendly" and "easily digestible" than type A1, and is suitable for lactose intolerant people.
Song Liang said that the current market of A2 β-casein products is relatively chaotic, its content can be detected, but the country does not have a unified testing standard, enterprises set their own standards is a selling point of the product, "the release of the white paper, in essence, is to adopt a cow to establish their own high standards in the field of A2."
The first public standard for A2 milk in China is the group standard of "A2β-casein milk" issued by the China Nutrition and Health Food Association, which focuses on the relevant definitions, index requirements, testing methods, product classification, etc. of A2β-casein milk. In terms of milk source, the standard clearly stipulates that cows containing homozygous genes for type A2 β-casein are called type A2 cows.
Zhan Junhao, a well-known strategic positioning expert and founder of Fujian Great Aim Brand Positioning Consulting, said that in the context of increasingly fierce competition in the A2 milk market, the quality and stability of milk sources have become the key factors that determine the success or defeat of enterprises. But at the same time, it is also easy to fall into a single product war, which means that enterprises need to invest more R&D and marketing resources in a certain product, and at the same time, they also need to deal with the competition and imitation of other companies, as well as the uncertainty risk caused by changes in consumer demand."
Beijing Business Daily reporter |
Edited by Topol