This is a subscriber-only article
As exclusively revealed last week by the Irish Farmers Journal, a Chinese infant formula company Newbaze will establish its European headquarters in Ireland.
Having acquired the Bose electronics factory in Carrickmacross earlier this year, it is likely that it will be 2019 before operations commence.
Newbaze must first gain approval from the Chinese Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under its new regulations, before it can start exporting product from Ireland to China.
Newbaze plans to package or tin finished infant formula product under its own brand at the Carrickmacross facility, for export directly to China.
The Chinese company will be a new customer for the Irish dairy industry as it will source base powder and other ingredients from Irish dairy processors and other specialist ingredient suppliers.
Employing up to 40 people, the operating model will be similar to Danone’s plant in Wexford, which takes in bulk bags of powder to be packaged as consumer, branded infant formula.
It is expected Newbaze will begin manufacturing up to 5,000t of infant formula for export, which will increase infant formula exports to China by 10% in its first year of operations.
Speaking to industry sources this week, the Irish Farmers Journal understands that Newbaze has chosen Ireland as its European base in order to leverage the Origin Green story and make a play for the “super-premium” category of the 800,000t infant formula market in China.
Infant formula in this category sells for four times the price of domestic product.
SHARING OPTIONS: