China Mengniu Dairy Company Limited: Practicing Nutrition Inclusiveness Program to boost the healthy growth of rural children

Company profile
 
China Mengniu Dairy Company Limited was founded in 1999 and its headquarters is located in Mengniu Industrial Park, Helingeer County, Inner Mongolia. It was listed in Hong Kong in 2004. In 2014, Mengniu became a Hang Seng Index constituent, making it the first blue chip Chinese dairy product manufacturer. COFCO, China's leader in agricultural trade, logistics, processing and production, French enterprise Danone, Denmark enterprise Arla Foods are Mengniu's first, second and third strategic shareholders. Mengniu ranked tenth in the world dairy industry in 2017. As the leading dairy product manufacturer in China, Mengniu focuses on developing and producing dairy products that are suitable for Chinese people. The company has formed a product matrix consisting of liquid milk, ice cream, milk powder, cheese,etc.
 
By December 2017, Mengniu has established 38 production bases nationwide and one overseas base in New Zealand with an annual capacity of 9.22 million tons. In 2017, Mengniu earned 60.156 billion yuan, and the share of high-end UHT milk and low temperature yogurt kept ahead.
 
Challenges
 
In October 2016, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Outline of the Healthy China 2030 Plan, taking health education as an important part of quality education at all stages of education. Drinking milk is an internationally recognized means to improve the children health. Calcium intake of children in China only reach 30% to 40% as recommended by the Chinese Nutrition Society, which is directly related to the lack of milk food in the diet of children in China. The drinking milk level of children in poor areas is even more unoptimistic. By June 2016, the average daily supply of milk for students of national rural nutrition improvement program pilot schools in compulsory education stage is only 13 million pieces. There are about 140 million students in compulsory education stage throughout the country, and only 20 million students can drink milk.
 
As the leading dairy product manufacturer in China, how to give full play to its advantages in supplying dairy products to help students in need to access to drink milk, and build a healthy body, advocate healthy lifestyle and self-reliance so as to achieve vision of being healthy Chinese, is the major social challenge faced by Mengniu.
 
Solutions
 
Since 2002, Mengniu has donated free milk to rural children through the "Student Milk Program" for 15 consecutive years. In 2017, Mengniu took the lead in joining the D20 Enterprise Milk Student Assistance Initiative to donate milk to rural schools. In this initiative, experts are invited to teach on-the-spot to bring professional nutrition knowledge to students and teachers, cultivating correct drinking habits and healthy habits
 
Improving the organization structure of public welfare management
 
Mengniu has improved 15 years of its public welfare management experience, and formed a complete public welfare organization structure and standardized implementation process. The management of the company puts the public welfare plan into the enterprise management plan. The Group Affairs Department is responsible for integrating resources from all parties, publicizing and expanding public welfare influence both inside and outside, and coordinating the implementation of the plan. The Student Milk Department is responsible for the formulation and implementation of the standards for the Student Milk Program, including storage, drinking guidance, packaging and recycling. The sales regions are responsible for the selection of the active market and distributors, the specific implementer and joint media coverage. The Group Research and Development Department is responsible for teaching and lecturer training on the popularization of health knowledge. The company also invited the China Environmental Protection Foundation (CEF) to supervise donations throughout the process to ensure a better implementation.
 
Accurately identifying the target of donation
 
The Student Milk Department has set strict standards for the selection of 209 schools from nearly 10,000 schools across the country. First, rural schools and rural primary schools in poverty-stricken counties are comprehensively evaluated, and schools with the most poor students, such as hope primary schools. Second, its basic on-site medical insurance is in line with the requirements of the national student milk drinking promotion plan. Third, the schools must have a storage room for milk storage at normal temperature, and the storage environment, temperature and humidity and commissioner management system and other factors have to be in line with standards. Fourth, to avoid the supply plan coincide with the supplying milk area of Student Nutrition Improvement Plan.
 
Whole process monitoring to ensure drinking safety
 
From the beginning of production, high-quality milk sources from designated pastures are selected for the products, and raw milk is the raw materials for processing while reconstituted milk is forbidden; all products fully consider the needs of children for taste.The development and production of strawberry, walnut and other flavor student milk is carried out with the raw milk volume no less than 80%; the production process includes tiers of testing and supervision and the usage of instant sterilization technology and aseptic packaging ensures that students milk products are strictly tested before they leave factory. In the process of implementation, Mengniu Public Welfare Team distributes the tasks to Mengniu Sales Regions according to the standard process, and carries out public welfare education activities. Before the donation, all teachers and students will be trained. The Mengniu Student Milk School Operating Standards is formulated to clarify the responsibilities and assessment methods of relevant personnel.
 
Jointly carrying out nutrition knowledge popularization
 
During the donation process, Mengniu tried to enhance the health consciousness of rural students through knowledge popularization and habit training, and expand the scope of nutrition knowledge through activities and media power. Mengniu drove industry partners to take advantage of their knowledge and send professional nutrition and health lectures to teachers, students and parents, which enables students to fully understand and cherish their bodies and fully realize the importance of health. The activity also helps students to drink milk in a scientific time and in a scientific way, and promotes students to pay attention to diet and personal hygiene, participate in sports in a planned way, and develop good health habits. It allows parents to understand the benefits of drinking milk during school break for the healthy growth of students. At the same time, we also pay attention to expanding milk nutrition knowledge and drinking milk healthy life concept publicity.
 
Achievement
 
Social benefit
 
Improving the health of rural children in China. In 2017, Mengniu donated milk to rural schools in 157 counties across 24 provinces, cities, and autonomous regions, which involves many national and provincial poverty-stricken regions or counties, covering more than 40,000 students in 209 schools. Mengniu actually donated 250,000 pieces of students' milk (6 million boxes of student milk).exceeding 50,000 pieces. The amount of student milk input is 12 million yuan, and the input of manpower and material resources is about 4 million yuan. Mengniu's public welfare activities provide timely nutritional support for Chinese rural children.
 
Promoting a good public atmosphere in the industry. Student milk donation has led industry chain partners, experts, sports celebrities, and the general public to participate in the implementation of Nutrition Inclusiveness Program. First, attend the Healthy Lectures and share task of health knowledge popularization with Mengniu Milk Business Department. Second, promote partner enterprises to replicate the social responsibility management mode of Mengniu, increase the amount of student milk donation and enlarge the beneficiary groups and scope. Third, drive the government, industry associations and third party public welfare organizations to guide and supervise the public welfare activities of enterprises, further developing a good public atmosphere in the industry.
 
Economic benefit
 
Expanding Mengniu's influence in the rural market. In 2017, Mengniu carried out 109 milk educational assistance launching ceremonies throughout the country, and was reported more than 200 times. Meanwhile, Mengniu has launched 103 Nutrition and Health Promotion activities in the country. Each activity invited 100-200 parents to participate in the activities, covering nearly 20,000 families. Activities and news coverage have created a good brand image of Mengniu and enhanced its influence in the rural market, opening the sale of Mengniu products in remote areas.
 
Prospect
 
In order to realize the corporate vision of "Health leading a century-old nutrition and healthy food company", in the future, Mengniu will integrate the Nutrition Inclusiveness Program into the Mengniu Sustainability 2030 Strategy, making it an important means and measurement for the sustainable development.