Namibia’s No. 1 dairy provider

Throughout its years of experience as a dairy product manufacturer and provider, Namibia Dairies has grown into a leading force in the Namibian dairy industry.
In 1997, Namibia Dairies was formed through the merger of Rietfontein Dairies and Bonmilk (Pty) Ltd. With this new venture, the company had two state-of-the-art manufacturing plants and now has five Namibian depots situated throughout Namibia in Oshakati, Keetmanshoop, Otjiwarongo, and Windhoek.

Products

The company is known for its selection of dairy products and is a major supplier of fresh and long-life milk. Hubertus Hamm, Director of Namibia Dairies, says, “We are by far the biggest fresh milk producer in Namibia. Quite a bit of our portfolio is in pre-treated milk and a large part of our portfolio is traditional cultured products.”

The company also has a variety of yogurts, cottage cheese and other soft cheeses as well as juice, dairy mixed drinks, dairy based beverages and water. Namibia Diaries’ water portfolio includes flavoured water and Hamm notes that it is growing strong in the marketplace.

In Namibia, milk is only available in hormone-free and antibiotic-free forms which create a much healthier product. Hamm says, “We don’t use any genetically modified cows or genetically modified feed in our process chain.”

The company was the first to produce extended shelf life milk in Southern Africa and long-life milk in Namibia. In 2009, Namibia Dairies opened one of the world’s most modern dairy farms in the world, located in Mariental, of south Namibia. Aimab Superfarm is a state-of-the-art facility which cost N$85 million to build and will double Namibia Dairies’ milk production capacity. Over the next five years, the company will see an increase of 30 to 40 per cent in its milk production.

Its portfolio of milk products includes brands like Rietfontein, Nammilk, Sunsation, Aqua Splash, and Juicy Fruit.

Expansion in Namibia and beyond

Namibia Dairies is a proud Namibian company that reaches extensively throughout Namibia. “We have about 600 daily distribution points nationwide,” says Hamm.

The company distributes to a number of grocery stores throughout Namibia including big-name stores Pick ‘n Pay and Shoprite Checkers. Namibia Dairies also supplies to local supermarket groups. The company has expanded into Angola and has a lot of products going into the Angola market. “We are the preferred dairy supplier for Shoprite Checkers in Angola and we deliver to them on a weekly basis,” says Hamm.

Hamm also notes that the company has started to expand into Botswana and Zambia. “We have already a bit of product in Botswana and we are expanding that footprint hopefully in Zambia as well and looking at some market opportunities there,” he says.

Goals and strengths

The company is always looking to grow the business and its profits while maintaining a high level of integrity and environmental awareness. Hamm says, “We want to grow the business and profits but are always looking at our environment and the people around us.”

Hamm states that the company would also like to increase distribution within Namibia and increase dairy consumption in Namibia to a higher level.

The company recognizes its key strengths to be its traditional and unique products. “In terms of our culture products they are traditionally Namibian and different to other products available in the region,” the company says.

The company is ISO-9001 2008 certified, which means that it “ensures compliance with internationally recognized quality management systems.”

“This ensures that Namibian consumers enjoy quality products that are healthy, affordable and manufactured to world class standards. Only hormone-free milk is sourced from approved Namibian producers and ISO quality control measures are applied throughout all operations,” states the company.

Namibia Dairies is a company that has created a stamp on the dairy product market. With a strong base in Namibia and with signs of growth in neighbouring countries, the company has established itself as a top quality dairy product provider in Namibia.

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