Success in dairy exports begins with a quality product, but that cannot be the only factor in marketing your business on a global scale. During the September 15 Hoard’s Dairyman DairyLivestream, Tropical Foods’ William Lynskey outlined his trifecta necessary for exporting dairy:
- Quality and value
- Ability to meet compliance requirements
- Ability to meet specific customer needs
“Success in the industry is no longer about the cheese. What I mean is that you used to always see success when you created a quality product and you were able to offer it at a fair value,” Lynskey said. “You could have the best Cheddar in the world, and you could even be able to offer it at a fair value. You will see success with that, but you will be limited.”
The limitation comes in the form of the other two legs of the trifecta. Compliance requirements on things like labeling vary greatly around the world and have only grown stricter, especially with COVID-19. Exporting companies with the flexibility and foresight to meet these regulations find themselves perfectly aligned to capitalize on growing markets.
The third and final criteria of the export trifecta is the ability to meet customer needs. These go beyond compliance requirements and can get incredibly specific.
“That might be putting translated labels on a product; it might be doing repacks or meeting a specific shelf life requirement that is not regulatory but is an internal policy,” Lynskey explained.
While the most important part of dairy exports is the same as domestic sales – having a good product at a good price – the global trade arena has gotten more crowded and requires savvy business people able to meet compliance regulations and customer needs.
To watch the recording of the September 15 DairyLivestream, go to the link above. The program recording is now also available as an audio-only podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and downloadable from the Hoard’s Dairyman website.
An ongoing series of events
The next broadcast of DairyLivestream will be on Wednesday, October 20 at 11 a.m. CDT. Each episode is designed for panelists to answer over 30 minutes of audience questions. If you haven’t joined a DairyLivestream broadcast yet, register here for free. Registering once registers you for all future events.
