Del Monte joint venture invests $2 million in dairy partnership

DEL MONTE Pacific Ltd. said that shareholders of its subsidiary’s joint venture with Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk) have infused $2 million in the venture for the year, the firm said in a disclosure on Wednesday.

In August 2021, Vinamilk — a Vietnam-based company engaged in providing milk and dairy products — partnered with Del Monte Philippines, Inc. (DMPI) to add dairy into the latter’s range of product offerings.

In the joint venture, DMPI will import Vinamilk products from Vietnam and sell them in co-branded packages in the Philippines.

Del Monte Pacific believes that the venture combines the strengths of DMPI and Vinamilk.

“Vinamilk is a leading regional dairy company with technical and manufacturing expertise for developing value-added product offerings anchored on quality, health and functional benefits, while Del Monte, as a market leader, has strong, long-standing relationships with leading food and beverage retailers and partnerships with distributors all over the Philippines,” the company said.

It added that one of the factors they put importance on is health and wellness, which they see will be addressed through adding milk leverages.

To date, Del Monte Vinamilk’s products are fortified ready-to-drink milk and yogurt drinks.

“We plan to increase our product lines with more dairy-based products from Vinamilk,” the company said.

Meanwhile, the company disclosed that it is exploring global opportunities for its recent acquisition, Kitchen Basics.

“Kitchen Basics benefits from an established and loyal consumer following and has impressive depth of distribution nationally. The brand complements our college inn broth business and creates an immediate national footprint within the broth or stock category. We are eager to consider market opportunities for the brand outside the US,” the company said.

On Wednesday, shares in Del Monte Pacific climbed by 0.58% or P0.08 to P13.88 apiece. — Justine Irish D. Tabile