Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy (Group) Limited by Share Ltd. () is a Chinese manufacturing and distribution company of

dairy product Dairy products or milk products are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, goat, nanny goat, and Sheep, ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food around the world such as y ...

s and

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

. The company is headquartered in

Hohhot Hohhot,; abbreviated zh, c=呼市, p=Hūshì, labels=no formerly known as Kweisui, is the Capital (political), capital of Inner Mongolia in the North China, north of the China, People's Republic of China, serving as the region's administrativ ...

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

and manufactures dairy products under the ''Mengniu'' brand. Mengniu's main competitor in China is the Yili Group. COFCO Corporation is Mengniu’s largest strategic shareholder.

Products

Mengniu's products include liquid

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

products, such as ultra heat treated ( UHT) milk,

yogurt Yogurt (; , from , ; also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to ...

and milk beverages,

and other dairy products, such as

powdered milk Powdered milk, also called milk powder, dried milk, or dry milk, is a manufactured dairy product made by evaporating milk to dryness. One purpose of drying milk is to preserve it; milk powder has a far longer shelf life than liquid milk and do ...

and milk tablets. During the year that ended on 31 December 2015, the company operated 33 production bases with an aggregate annual

production capacity Productive capacity is the maximum possible output of an economy. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), no agreed-upon definition of maximum output exists. UNCTAD itself proposes: "the productive ''resources ...

of 8.68 million tons. China Mengniu Dairy Company Limited's operates in three segments: the liquid milk products segment, which manufactures and distributes processed UHT milk, milk beverages and yogurt; the ice cream products segment, which manufactures and distributes ice cream products, and the other dairy products segment, which manufactures and distributes processed milk powder and milk tablets products.

History

The owner and founder of Mengniu is Niu Gensheng, a former employee of Yili, another Inner Mongolian dairy giant which is now Mengniu's largest competitor. He founded the company in 1999, and the company's textbook growth has swept the country by storm. In 2002,

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...

, CDH Investments and China Capital Partners signed agreement with Mengniu to invest US$26m for a total share of 32% in the company. Mengniu then went on to be listed on the

Hong Kong Stock Exchange The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (, SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. It is one of the largest stock exchanges in Asia and the List of major stock exchanges, 9th largest globally by market ...

(SEHK) in June 2004. When Mengniu had financial trouble as the result of business following its role in the

2008 Chinese milk scandal The 2008 Chinese milk scandal was a significant food safety incident in China. The scandal involved Sanlu Group's milk and infant formula along with other food materials and components being adulterated with the chemical melamine, which resu ...

, in July 2009, Mengniu sold a 20% stake to a

consortium A consortium () is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a ...

led by the state-owned COFCO Group, China's largest importer and exporter of food. That sale made the state the largest

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the ...

and effectively nationalized the company.

Advertising

The company is a leading manufacturer of

and other dairy products in

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

, partly due to its high-profile advertising campaigns. One such campaign advertised ''"special milk for China's

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

s"'' after the successful launches of the

Shenzhou 5 Shenzhou 5 (, see ) was the first human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program, launched on 15 October 2003. The Shenzhou (spacecraft), Shenzhou spacecraft was launched on a Long March 2F launch vehicle. There had been four previous fl ...

and

Shenzhou 6 Shenzhou 6 () was the second human spaceflight of the Chinese space program, launched on October 12, 2005, on a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The Shenzhou spacecraft carried a crew of Fèi Jùnlóng (费俊龙) ...

spacecraft (in fact the company sponsors the Chinese space program), and Mengniu also sponsored the popular ''

SuperGirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

'' contest. ''SuperGirl'' Zhang Hanyun (aka ''Baby Zhang'') became associated with ''Mengnius brand, appearing in Mengniu's commercials, which became instrumental in her elevation to fame. In

marketing campaign Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

s, it also uses the slogan "中國牛世界牛蒙牛", which metaphorically means "Mengniu will be outstanding in Inner Mongolia, be outstanding in China and world". The company has now become a symbol of entrepreneurship in China. Mengniu has also sponsored the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

and

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

2008 Chinese milk scandal

Mengniu was among those named for having powdered milk samples which tested positive for melamine. The company recalled tainted powdered milks and apologised to the public.Lee Spears
"China Revokes `Inspection-Free' Right as Milk Scandal Spreads"
, Bloomberg (18 September 2008) Trading in Mengniu shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was suspended on 17 September. Shares in other dairy companies fell strongly the next day.''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

'', "Investors dump financials and dairy producers", ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

'' (18 September 2008) On discovery that their liquid milk was also contaminated, Mengniu was stripped of its status as 'Chinese national brands'. Mengniu, whose products tested negative in Hong Kong government tests, was immediately de-listed by supermarket chains after tests showed that contaminated samples had been found on the mainland.Paggie Leung & Mary Ann Benitez, "HK store chains strip shelves of Mengniu goods", Page A2, ''

'' (20 September 2008) Mengniu's CFO attempted to reassure consumers by offering a no-quibble refund on all products, and by drinking liquid milk in front of reporters. He also said that its export products were less likely to be contaminated. This comment spurred accusations on Internet bulletin boards that the company's preferential export policies was because it thought Chinese lives were cheaper than foreigners'.Jasmine Wang, "Export milk less likely to be tainted, says mainland firm", Page A2, ''South China Morning Post'' (20 September 2008) On 17 September 2008, Hong Kong Stock Exchange suspended trading in shares of China Mengniu Dairy Co. Ltd. In 2011 Mengniu Dairy stated that moldy cattle feed led to excessive toxin levels in its milk.

Mengniu Arla

In 2006, China Mengniu Co. Ltd teamed up with

Arla Foods Arla Foods is a Danish-Swedish multinational co-operative based in Viby, Denmark. It is the fifth biggest dairy company in the world and the largest producer of dairy products in Scandinavia and United Kingdom. Arla Foods was formed as the re ...

, the largest producer of dairy products in Scandinavia, to produce and distribute solid milk products in China, including Hong Kong and Macau. The Chinese dairy products maker said it would hold 50 percent of the venture, while

would own 48 percent. The joint venture company was named Mengniu Arla. After the company's products tested positive for melamine, CEO Peder Tuborgh, Arla Foods, said: "The situation is extremely distressing for all the families who need milk of the highest quality to feed their children. It is extremely important that we get to the bottom of the problem so that consumers' safety can be guaranteed and confidence in the Chinese dairy industry maintained, together with Mengniu and the authorities, we're doing everything we can to safeguard quality."

References

External links

*
China Mengniu Dairy Co Limited's official website.

China Mengniu Dairy Co Limited's official website.
{{authority control Arla Foods Companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Dairy products companies of China Chinese brands Government-owned companies of China Companies based in Hohhot 2008 Chinese milk scandal