Dutch Lady aims big in foodservice

Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd has unveiled interesting figures from its new foodservice business. At the moment, the dairy company is supplying to more than 250 cafes and 195 hotels and bakeries nationwide, said Dutch Lady Consumer Dairy Marketing Director Ramjeet Kaur Virik at the sidelines of the the Food and Hotel Malaysia Expo 2019.

According to Virik, the reason Dutch Lady enters the foodservice business is to encourage Malaysians to drink more milk and the most effective way of reaching out to Malaysians is by tapping into the eating out trend. This way, the company can cultivate the habit of drinking milk in the daily life of the consumer.

To build the business in the foodservice industry in Malaysia, Dutch Lady is looking at opportunities firstly in cafes and to a lesser extend milk tea and secondly in baking for hotels and bakeries.

Be the best milk partner for cafes with Perfect Serve

Milk is an important part of the cafe business with milk alone accounts for 50-75% of the content in latte, cappuccino and flat white, said Virik. As part of Dutch Lady’s involvement in the café industry, the company has partnered with the Malaysia Specialty Coffee Association (MSCA) to become their official partner for a two-year period from January 2019. This comes after Dutch Lady’s milk products scored well as part of the blind taste test carried out by the MSCA.

Dutch Lady is the official milk 2019-2020 for the Malaysia Latte Art Championship and the Malaysia Barista Championship.

What MSCA looks for in milk is the foam quality, which is used in latte art. They also like milk that offers the right balance where it “does not overpower the coffee but support the coffee”, explained Virik.

To make the best coffee, Dutch Lady has come up with the Perfect Serve concept. Four steps are needed to master the Perfect Serve:

Stretch – Angle the half-filled jug at an angle until the steam wand is 2mm under the milk’s surface.

Swirl – Lift up the jug to start the swirling process. Listen out as the milk will begin to hiss as it reaches 60°C – 65°C.

Serve – With close attention given to stretching and swirling the milk, it is now perfectly frothed and textured to serve the perfect coffee.

Save – Reap the benefits of making us your quality Milk Partner as we share the ready module to understand the figures behind each cup of milk-based coffee to maximize your profits and optimize the value of our partnership.

Making the best recipe for baking and hotel clients from a solution perspective

Milk is an important ingredient in baking including in the making of pastries, pudding, ice cream and local cakes. More people are using milk instead of santan as milk is seen as a better option, explained Virik.

Dutch Lady is already a supplier to a lot of the hotel chains. The company partners with top bakers to uncover the right amount and the type of milk to use to come up with the best recipe to serve in their premises. By supplying to hotels, Dutch Lady’s products can also become part of the breakfast offerings with milk and yogurt as well as for cooking, added Virek.

Dutch Lady is participating at Food Hotel Malaysia for the first time to build awareness among foodservice players that Dutch Lady has products for them. Virik has identified nutrition, quality (eg halal) and taste plus how Dutch Lady enhances the taste with milk as critical components for products targeting the foodservice industry.

Aims to be number one in foodservice

Dutch Lady is already number one in retail. The company hopes to be number one in foodservice as well, said Virek. Dutch Lady has different range of products from full cream, low fat to protein enriched to cater to different foodservice needs.

The products used in the foodservice sectors include the Dutch Lady Ultra-High Temperature Processing (UHT) Professional Full Cream Milk mainly for baking and the Dutch Lady Pure Farm Fresh Milk for baristas.

Dutch Lady is looking at innovation to deliver the best solution for their customers that can help them save money and make their life easier, explained Virek. Dutch Lady will be launching new products for the foodservice sector in the “next three to four months,” added Virek.