Yili becomes Olympic partner to milk rewards

Zhang Jiandong, deputy mayor of Beijing city and executive vice-chairman of the Beijing 2022, and Pan Gang, chairman of Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, reach a partnership agreement in Beijing on Aug 30, 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Inner Mongolia's Yili Group has teamed up with Beijing 2022 to become the official supplier of dairy products for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In a deal signed on Aug 30, Yili Group and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, will rekindle the relationship which began during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

It marks the first time that a dairy supplier has partnered with both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

Milk and dairy products are growing sectors in the Chinese economy with annual sales in the region of $55 billion, and with this year set to become the first for yogurt sales to overtake that of milk, according to the Financial Times.

Added to the growing domestic market, Yili has been spreading its influence overseas, seeking partnerships in Asia, Europe, Oceania and North America, in the sectors of milk, milk powder, yogurt and ice cream.

A highlight of this "going out" was the inauguration of the Yili Oceania Production Base in 2014. Chinese President Xi Jinping and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key attended the opening.

In the following year, the Sino-US Food Wisdom Valley was established thanks to the support from leaders from both governments.

Pan Gang, chairman of Yili, said at the announcement of the partnership that the Olympic spirit of "harder, faster, stronger" have been embedded in the company's culture since they first worked together 12 years ago.

"Yili is proud to continue to provide services for international events with the Olympic standards as well as contributing to the fitness of Chinese people," Pan said, adding that the cooperation gives global consumers the chance to enjoy high-quality Chinese dairy products

Zhang Jiandong, deputy mayor of Beijing city and executive vice-chairman of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee, said that Yili has a great amount of trust and a good reputation with a large group of consumers.

"With a long-term partnership with the Olympic committee, Yili has supplied advanced dairy products for athletes and sport staff. And today, Yili makes another step on the journey to serve the Olympics Games," Zhang said.

A spokesperson for Yili, said that company is carrying out an ambitious strategy in terms of global marketing to complement its technological innovation and international collaboration.

As one of China's top three diary suppliers, and one of only two that are privately-run, Yili is in the process of gathering the world's top tech in nutrition and health, food safety, agricultural science, animal husbandry, enterprise management and talent cultivation.

The company aims to create an innovative, high-end and forward-thinking platform with which to benefit its more than 1 billion Chinese customers.

As of 2016, Yili has ranked eighth on the Rabobank Global Dairy Top-20, marking China's dairy power in contributing to the world's dairy industry.