“Hundred Cities Marathon” Series
In 2024, Mengniu held its “Hundred Cities Marathon” series. The event spanned the entire year, covering nearly 100 cities and 110 races, attracting over 2.2 million participants. It continued to promote fitness for all and support the development of China’s sports industry.
The 2024 Dairy Technology and Nutrition & Health Industry Innovation Conference, with guidance from the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology, the China Dairy Association, the China Dairy Industry Association, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Department of Science and Technology, was hosted by Mengniu in Hohhot. Under the theme “Driving Development with Innovation, Winning the Future with New Quality Productive Forces”, Mengniu, together with its research ecosystem and industry partners, released the Joint Declaration on Dairy and Nutrition & Health Industry Innovation in China’s Dairy Capital: Hohhot.
At the 2024 Harvard Business Review China Annual Conference, the 8th Ram Charan Management Practice Awards were announced. Mengniu’s corporate culture case, “Resources Will Eventually Run Out and Only Culture Endures Forever” and its digital transformation case “AI-Driven Intelligent Process Reengineering”, won the Human Resources Practice Award and the Management Practice Award – Award of Excellence, respectively.
The 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity was held in Cali, Colombia. Mengniu was the only Chinese dairy company invited to participate. During the conference, Mengniu officially launched “Oasis”, a biodiversity advocacy initiative.
Mengniu Dairy announced that Mr. Lu Minfang had resigned as Executive Director, Vice Chairman of the Board, and member of the Strategy and Development Committee and Sustainable Development Committee of Mengniu Dairy.
The WEF announced the latest batch of “Lighthouse Factory” designations. Mengniu’s Ningxia factory, the fully digitalintelligent super factory, was certified as one, becoming the first in China’s dairy industry and the first global liquid milk facility to receive this honor.
The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) announced the second batch of 75 central enterprises as patriotic education bases, with Mengniu Industrial Tourism Zone included.
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions issued the Decision on Commending National Model Homes of Employees, National Model Small Homes of Employees, and National Outstanding Trade Union Workers. The Trade Union Committee of Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy (Group) Co., Ltd. was awarded the title of “National Model Worker Home.”
Mengniu and JD.com entered into a comprehensive strategic partnership. Mengniu CEO Gao Fei and JD.com CEO Xu Ran attended the signing ceremony. The two companies agreed to deepen and broaden cooperation across all channels and industry segments over the next four years, aiming to achieve a cooperation target of RMB 30 billion.
Mengniu SUANSUANRU partnered with Hunan TV to host the “SUANSUANRU 20th Anniversary Celebration event”. Pop singer Zhang Hanyun performed the famous song Suansuan Tiantian Jiushi Wo (Sour and Sweet, That’s Me) again, while brand ambassador Tan Jianci debuted the new brand single Suansuan Tiantian Zhende Wo (Sour and Sweet, That’s True Me).
Mengniu Dairy (2319.HK) held its 2024 Interim Results Press Conference in Hong Kong. The financial report showed that Mengniu achieved revenue of RMB 44.67 billion in the first half of 2024, a year-on-year decrease of 12.6%. Mengniu delivered an operating profit of RMB 3.12 billion, with the operating profit margin increasing by 0.6 percentage points year-on-year to 7%.
At the 2024 Sustainable and Responsible Supply Chain Conference hosted by Sedex, a global authority in sustainable and responsible supply chains, Mengniu was awarded the 2024 Sedex Driving Changes Award.
Mengniu’s “Experience in Implementing the ‘1643’ Sky Dome Quality Management Model Across the Supply Chain” was recognized as a “2024 Quality Benchmarking Case” by the China Association for Quality.
Synaura Biotechnology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Mengniu, received GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) certification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its independently developed human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) 2’-FL (2’-fucosyllactose).
Mengniu and Wageningen University & Research (WUR) in the Netherlands held a project signing ceremony at the Wageningen campus. Attendees included Ben Langelaan, dean of the College of Food Science at WUR. Wen Yongping, Mengniu Vice President and Global Head of R&D, and Zhang Xuguang, Mengniu Assistant Vice President also attended the ceremony.
On July 27 (local time in France), Mengniu initiated and hosted the “China Night” event in Paris, with support from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and various walks of China. The event celebrated ordinary people who have made relentless pursuit of excellence, shared their inspiring stories, advocated their spirit, and promoted cultural exchanges and mutual learning. Attendees included IOC President Thomas Bach, COFCO Vice President, Mengniu Chairman Qing Lijun, and Mengniu CEO Gao Fei.
As the Paris 2024 Olympic Games opened, Mengniu collaborated with director Zhang Yimou’s team to release an Olympic-themed TV commercial. The ad invited billions of viewers worldwide to join the Olympic celebration, showcasing the Chinese people’s pursuit of excellence and cheering for athletes.
The 15th Dairy Conference of China, 2024 China Dairy Top 20 (D20) Summit, and 2024 China Dairy Exhibition were held in Wuhan, Hubei. The event was hosted by the China Dairy Association, with special support from Mengniu. Mengniu CEO Gao Fei delivered a speech at the opening ceremony, proposing three industry initiatives: “Leading with Research to Develop New Categories”, “Empowering with Digital and Intelligent Technology to Shape a New Industry” and “Introducing New Models to Cultivate New Business Forms”.
The National Science and Technology Conference, National Science and Technology Awards Conference, and the Conference of Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering were held in Beijing. Mengniu, as the primary contributor, was awarded the National Science and Technology Progress Award (Second Prize) for the project “Innovation and Application of Key Technologies in the Mining and Industrialization of High-Quality Lactic Acid Bacteria Germplasm Resources”, making it the only company in the industry to receive this honor.
Mengniu released the dairy industry’s first Green Packaging Value Report, showcasing the green packaging practices across the industry chain and the fruitful results of its collaboration with ecosystem partners in promoting circular economy development.
Mengniu Dairy announced that Mr. Chen Lang had resigned as Non-Executive Director, Chairman of the Board, Director of the Nomination Committee and the Strategy and Development Committee, and Mr. Qing Lijun was appointed as Non-Executive Director, Chairman of the Board, and Director of the Nomination Committee and the Strategy and Development Committee.
The 3rd China Breast Milk Science Conference was held in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. At the conference, Mengniu’s infant formula brand RUIBUEN showcased its latest achievement in collaboration with Jiangnan University and Sun Yat-sen University – the world’s first “Human Affinity Formula” (MLCT + Novel OPO) with clinical feeding evidence.
Mengniu CEO Gao Fei met with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach in Shanghai. The two sides discussed topics related to jointly promoting global sports and sustainable development.
Mengniu launched the “Food Wisdom is Power.”: Youth Food Nutrition Education Skills Competition, as part of the 2024 “Hundred Cities, Thousand Schools: China Student Nutrition and Health Education Public Welfare Initiative” in Wuxi. This event, co-initiated by Mengniu and COFCO Nutrition and Health Research Institute, aims to popularize nutrition and health knowledge among Chinese youth, promote healthy diet on campus, and enhance the nutritional health of students.
At the 6th Meeting of the Council of China-France Entrepreneurs in Paris, Mengniu and French dairy company Le Groupe Bel officially signed the Proposal for Cooperation in Sustainable Development.
Mengniu published 2023 Sustainability Report. In 2023, Mengniu steadfastly implemented the GREEN sustainability strategy, integrating ESG principles into the entire business decision-making and execution process, and driving green transformation across the entire industry chain.
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions held a conference to honor the 2024 National May 1st Labor Award recipients and National Workers’ Pioneer Teams. Mengniu Dairy (Jiaozuo) Co., Ltd. was awarded the “National May 1st Labor Certificate of Merit”.
On World Earth Day, Mengniu released the dairy industry’s first TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) report, disclosing its nature-related management practices in production processes and supply chains.
Mengniu Dairy (2319.HK) held its 2023 Annual Results Press Conference in Hong Kong. In 2023, Mengniu achieved annual revenue of RMB 98.62 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.5%, with operating profit reaching RMB 6.17 billion, up 13.8% year-on-year. The operating profit margin continued to improve, rising by 40 basis points to 6.3%.
Mengniu Dairy announced that, in line with the company’s strategic arrangements, Mr. Lu Minfang was promoted to Vice Chairman and stepped down as CEO while continuing to serve as an Executive Director. Mr. Gao Fei, former Senior Vice President and head of the UHT business unit, succeeded as CEO and acted as Executive Director.
Mengniu’s premium fresh milk brand, SHINY MEADOW, obtained import approval from the Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, officially entering the Hong Kong market. The product is now available in over 1,000 supermarket outlets across Hong Kong, including Wellcome, PARKnSHOP, AEON, and 7-11.
The Shanghai Association for Food & Cosmetics Quality and Safety Management officially released the group standard “Determination of Seven Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs) in Infant Formula and Modified Milk Powder”. This standard, led by Mengniu’s infant formula brand RUIBUEN, is the first domestic group standard for simultaneously detecting seven HMOs in infant formula and modified milk powder using liquid chromatography.
Mengniu won the First Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Patent Gold Award for its invention patent related to the “Just Yoghurt” fruit yogurt product.
MIIT announced the “2023 National Technological Innovation Demonstration Enterprises List”, with Mengniu being the only dairy company selected.
The National Archives Administration released the 2023 List of National Best Practices of Enterprise Archives Innovation. Mengniu Dairy (Ningxia) Co., Ltd.’s “Mengniu Ningxia’s Innovative Practice of Building Smart Archives” was recognized as a “Practice with Reference Value for Enterprise Archives Work in 2023”.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released the 2023 Green Manufacturing List, with Mengniu Dairy (Suqian) Co., Ltd., Mengniu High-Tech Dairy Products (Wuhan) Co., Ltd., and Mengniu Dairy (Qujing) Co., Ltd. on it. To date, Mengniu has a total of 30 factories recognized as “National Green Factories”.