The a2 Milk Company — BrandWiki

The a2 Milk Company

Overview

The a2 Milk Company Limited

type	Public company
traded as	asx: A2M nzx: ATM S&P/ASX 200 component
predecessor	A2 Corporation Limited
founded	2000 in New Zealand
founders	Corran McLachlan Howard Paterson
hq location city	Auckland
hq location country	New Zealand
areas served	New Zealand, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Canada, United States of America, United Kingdom
key people	David Bortolussi (CEO) David Hearn (Chairman)
products	A2 Milk, dairy, infant formula
revenue	NZ$1.21 billion‡R1R‡
revenue year	2021
operating income	NZ$116.0 million‡R1R‡
income year	2021
net income	NZ$80.7 million‡R1R‡
net income year	2021
assets	NZ$1.37 billion‡R1R‡
assets year	2021
equity	NZ$1.08 billion‡R1R‡
equity year	2021
num employees	▲ 111‡R2R‡
num employees year	2016
website	www.thea2milkcompany.com/

The a2 Milk Company Limited (previously known as A2 Corporation) is a New Zealand company that commercialises intellectual property relating to A1 protein-free milk that is sold under the a2 and a2 Milk brands, as well as the milk and related products such as infant formula. It is cross-listed in both the NZX and ASX.

History

The a2 Milk Company is the successor of A2 Corporation Limited, a New Zealand company founded in 2000 by Dr Corran McLachlan, who was researching health effects of A1 beta-casein, and Howard Paterson, who was one of New Zealand's richest men, a significant dairy farmer, and a stakeholder in Fonterra, a dairy cooperative. The company commercialised a genetic test to determine whether a cow will produce milk without the A1 protein, and to market A1 protein-free milk.[3][4][5]

Markets

New Zealand and Australia

Sales of A1 protein-free milk in Australia and New Zealand boosted significantly following 2007, after the publication of a book, Devil in the Milk by Keith Woodford, about A1 beta-casein and its perceived dangers to health;[38] the book prompted the New Zealand Food Safety Authority to propose again reviewing the science to address consumer concerns that milk containing both the A1 and A2 proteins might be harmful.[9] It asked the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to undertake such a review.[39][40] The EFSA report, released in 2009, found that "a cause and effect relationship is not established between the dietary intake of BCM7 (beta-casomorphin-7), related peptides or their possible protein precursors and non-communicable diseases".[33][40]

The a2 Milk Company launched an infant formula in New Zealand and Australia in September 2013[24] and an A1 protein-free thickened cream was launched in January 2014 under the a2 and a2 MILK brands.[41]

A2 Corporation changed its name to the a2 Milk Company Limited effective April 2014, and at that time had about 8% market share of the milk products market in Australia.[42]

In 2014 Lion, a beverage and food company that operates in Australia and New Zealand and is owned by Kirin, relaunched its Pura Milk product with a new label stating: "Naturally contains A2 protein."[20][43][44][45]

The a2 Milk Company announced in November 2014 that it had begun the application process for a dual listing on the Australian Securities Exchange in a bid to open its register to Australian investors and boost the liquidity of its shares. The company successfully listed in Australia on 30 March 2015.[46]

United States

In August 2003, The a2 Milk Company exclusively licensed patent and trademark rights to US-based Ideasphere Incorporated (ISI) to market A1 protein-free products in North America.[47] ISI acquired Twinlab in September 2003, followed by another string of acquisitions in the dietary supplement market.[48] In June 2005, ISI and A2 Corporation agreed to form a joint venture, a2 Milk Company LLC.[49]

In April 2007 A2 Corporation announced a deal in which the joint venture would license rights to the Original Foods Company, whose branding the A1 protein-free product would carry, and in which the product would be sold in several midwestern states through the Hy-Vee supermarket chain.[50]

In A2 Corporation's 2009 Annual Report, the company announced that the joint venture had regained all rights to the US market through a settlement with the Original Foods Company.[51]

United Kingdom

The a2 Milk Company formed a joint venture with a major British milk supplier, Müller Wiseman Dairies (MWD), in November 2011 to process, market and sell its A1 protein-free products in Britain and Ireland.[54] In June 2014 The a2 Milk Company reported it had 20 dedicated farms supplying milk for processing in the UK.[55] In its first year the milk recorded £1 million in sales through 1,000 stores.[56] On 1 January 2014, The a2 Milk Company exited its joint venture with MWD by acquiring MWD's stake for a "nominal" amount.[57]

In October 2019, the a2 Milk Company announced[58] that it had decided to "discontinue a2 milk in the UK" and its products would only be available until the end of November 2019.

China

The first consignments of the a2 Milk Company infant formula – a2 Platinum were sent to China in 2013.[59][60] Exports to China have increased dramatically following the 2008 Chinese milk scandal.[61][62][63][64]