Kendal-made Infant Formula Ready To Roll Off The Production Line And Head Off To China

Kendal Nutricare Ltd, which recently achieved a major export coup, by signing a £6 million contract with the Orient International Shanghai Foreign Trade Company Ltd of China, is preparing to see its Chinese consignment rolling off the production line on April 27.

On that day, tins of specially branded Kendamil infant formula, designed with the needs of the Chinese market in mind, will be packed with Kendamil’s unique product, which incorporates all the goodness of whole milk, with pre-biotic GOS and Omega 3 and 6.

This premium product, which uses milk from herds of cows from around Cumbria, will quickly be dispatched to China, where parents will be able to enjoy all the advantages that the infant milk is already bringing to babies around Cumbria.

On home soil, its Red Tractor accreditation already communicates its farm fresh nature and elicits trust amongst mums and dads who like to source local, farm-friendly products.

Since adopting Kendamil, Cumbrian parents are already reporting that their babies seem happier and full of energy, are free from digestive issues and constipation and are enjoying a longer sleep at night.

Being closer to mother nature, and incorporating cow’s milk, which a report published this week highlighted as being nutritionally beneficial for babies, is seeing Kendamil generating many testimonials from delighted parents across the county, which could soon be echoed in China.

Kendal Nutricare has achieved its exporting success by promoting its unique infant formula, Kendamil, to the Chinese market and working closely with UKTI and its team of export advisers. It became the first British company to achieve CNCA accreditation, to enable it to export to China, and has followed this up by securing the valuable Chinese contract.

The contract takes Kendamil into a booming market, where the one-child rule has been relaxed and where premium brands are much sought. From 2010-2015 baby food sales in China almost doubled and China now consumes baby food to the value of approximately USD 19 billion a year.

As Kendamil is the only infant formula and cereal brand in Britain to be made with whole milk, rather than skimmed, it gained a lot of kudos in the Chinese market, where its premium formula delighted Chinese buyers looking for a world-class infant food product range.

The infant formula is available in three age ranges: from birth to six months, from 6-12 months and from 12-36 months and in two sizes – 400g and 900g.  It is made by a highly qualified Kendal Nutricare team, many of whom have 25 years’ experience in the factory.

Kendamil infant cereals also use whole milk and are produced for children aged 4 months upwards. These contain a combination of oat flakes, rice and highly nutritious fresh fruits, such as blueberries and bananas, grown free from pesticides, contaminants and heavy metals.

Kendal Nutricare launched Kendamil after managing director, Ross McMahon, bought the Kendal-based factory from H J Heinz, on June 1 2015, and utilised its 50 years of experience in the baby food market, to create the Kendamil brand.

As well as generating other export sales in China, the company is seeking export markets in the Middle East and Africa, having attracted much interest at Gulfoods in Dubai, the world’s largest food show.

Ross McMahon says: “We were delighted to secure the contract with Orient International Shanghai Foreign Trade Company Ltd and must thank UKTI’s Penny Wang-Orme, Rob Furse and Gordon Bettany, as well as our agent in China, Lucy Shen, for their help. It will be exciting to see this first production of Kendamil for the Chinese market leaving the factory.

“We hope to secure more export success for Britain and, in turn, create new employment opportunities here in England’s north west.

“We have a unique product, with a host of benefits for the young child, but also manufacture a range of adult healthcare products that can also become export stars.   With the skills and expertise of our pharmaceutical research scientists, we are sure our brands will soon become known worldwide.”