The Association of Dairy Producers Damol reported an increase in demand for dairy products from HoReCa

‘Young people and older people are interested in functional products that help the body to be fit. The elderly prefer traditional milk,’ said Alexey Sorokin, emphasizing that all the plants of the Association of Dairy Producers Damol showed an increase in production and, accordingly, the output of finished products in the first half of the year. 

In all regions where factories of the association are present, consumption of traditional and fermented dairy products, in particular, yoghurts, increased. Consumption of cottage cheese and cheeses grew, noted in Damol. In addition, milk powder was very popular.

‘In general, all types of dairy products in January-June in comparison with the same period in 2020 increased by about 15% and, I hope, the positive dynamics will continue. The fact that a significant part of Russians spend time at home, do not leave the country, respectively, increases the consumption of traditional milk in the first place. In addition, after several months of downtime last year, the HoReCa segment started working again and, therefore, the demand for our products from cafes and restaurants has increased,’ the expert added.

According to him, as in previous years, the influence of seasonal factors on the market is observed. Every summer, the production of milk that needs to be processed increases. Since the demand for perishable products does not always correspond to the supply, the enterprises of the Association of Dairy Producers Damol process part of the summer raw materials into products with long shelf life — milk powder and butter. As for prices for raw materials this season — they were expected to be lower. Unfortunately, they are about 10% higher than last year. 

‘It is clear why raw materials have become more expensive — prices for feed, logistics, packaging, and so on have increased. All these factors combined led to a slight increase in the price of raw milk. In addition, the introduction of the "Honest Mark" entails investment in equipment, and this will inevitably lead to an increase in selling prices for finished dairy products by about 10% for all producers,’ said Alexey Sorokin.

He said that the Association of Dairy Producers Damol has been participating in the experiment on labeling dairy products "Honest Mark" since 2020.

‘We purchased the equipment in time, signed contracts for the software and started working in the system without failures,’ said Alexey Sorokin. ‘We are optimistic about the future. We hope that the consumption of the main types of dairy and fermented dairy products by Russians will continue to grow. For example, I would like to note that the production of yoghurts and bio-yoghurts is growing every month at our Tolyatti plant "Volga Industry": these products are of interest to consumers, especially young people. I think the interest in functional products with non-standard tastes will only increase. I would like to see the purchasing power of our compatriots grow in parallel: we are ready to offer modern, high-quality products for every taste and we really want as many people as possible to afford them as a daily healthy food.

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