Arla Food expanding with Lurpak Spreadable butter

The introduction of Lurpak Spreadable butter in South East Asia has significantly expanded Arla Foods markets in Singapore and Hong Kong. In Singapore, where the product was introduced five years ago, the growth has been 50 percent over the past three years.
     The same trend is also seen in Malaysia and the Philippines, where the new product has been on the market for about a year
     In Thailand, the product was introduced during the second half of last year and also hows promising signs.
     This year, Mr. Lars Møller Henriksen, Arla Food’s new Regional Manager based in Kuala Lumpur, will launch the prere it shoduct in China and Taiwan.
     “We usually focus on consumer promotions in major outlets for our products. This way, we reach the most potential consumers directly,” Mr. Henriksen explains.
     When Lurpak Spreadable was introduced in the UK, it boosted Arla Foods market considerably. With sales of £65M just 5 years after it’s triumphant launch, the product has also been heralded as arguably the most successful new product introduction ever in the BSM market.
     The second most popular product group for Arla Foods in Asia is cheese, where the strength of Arla Foods is in particular its broad product range.
     “A general trend in this market is the shift in consumer preference from the processed, slice-wrapped kinds of cheese to natural cheeses where we are stronger. Our Havarti cheese is sold in slices, but it is still genuine, natural yellow cheese which consumers otherwise mostly slice themselves,” Mr. Henriksen explains.
     “Sales volume within cheese is still limited, so a broad range of products is needed to be present in the markets,” he adds.
     Lars Møller Henriksen joined Arla Foods eight years ago and was in his latest capacity responsible for Arla Foods markets in Middle East and the Balkans. His promotion to head the regional office in KL is his first posting overseas. He succeeded in September 2002 Mr. Jens Tamdrup who after six years in KL left for Denmark where his is today working with one of Arla Foods subsidiaries.
     “We have a good tradition in Arla Foods that we always go on a “farewell and hello”-round together, so Jens and I managed to meet all our main distributors in the region before he left,” Mr. Henriksen says.

About Gregers Møller

Editor-in-Chief • ScandAsia Publishing Co., Ltd. • Bangkok, Thailand

View all posts by Gregers Møller

One Comment on “Arla Food expanding with Lurpak Spreadable butter”

  1. Is there anywhere that you know of in Bangkok where I could purchase a butter knife? Several years ago, there was a Lurpak promotion that included giving away a butter knife when purchasing Lurpak butter. We acquired two during the promotion but, sadly, the ravages of time have separated the blades from their wooden handles. If you have any still lurking at Lurpak, I would gladly purchase some from you but, if not, if you know of a retailer who sells any kind of butter knife, I would be most grateful if you could advise me where I can go to purchase a few. Many thanks!

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