Beaten at Home, Chinese Milk Formula Makers Forge Ties Abroad
- Foreign cos. tap rising demand after 2008 melamine scandal
- Domestic brands still struggle to regain consumer trust
Customers walk down an aisle selling baby formula at a supermarket in Beijing, China, in 2015.
Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Chinese infant formula producers are going global to regain market share at home after a melamine scandal almost a decade ago crippled consumers’ trust in locally-made products.
Feihe International Inc. is the latest company to invest in overseas manufacturing, spending C$300 million ($238 million) to build a plant in partnership with Canada Royal Milk in Ontario. That follows similar moves by Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., which has invested in plants in the U.S. and New Zealand, and Yashili International Holdings Ltd.