On December 7, under the joint guidance of the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology, the Dairy Association of China, the China Dairy Industry Association, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Department of Science and Technology, Mengniu hosted the 2024 Dairy Technology and Nutrition and Health Industry Innovation Conference in Hohhot, the “Dairy Capital of China.” Themed “Driving Development through Innovation and Winning the Future with New Quality Productive Forces,” the conference aimed to explore and cultivate new quality productive forces and promote high-quality development of the dairy industry.

The conference was attended and addressed by prominent figures including academicians Deng Zixin, Chen Runsheng, and Li Lin from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, academicians Sun Baoguo, Chen Jian, and Ren Fazheng from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Vice Chairman Sun Junqing of the People’s Government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Director Zhang Wentao of the Region’s Department of Science and Technology, Executive Vice Chair Shao Wei from the CIFST, Vice Chair and Secretary-General Liu Yaqing from the Dairy Association of China, Executive President Liu Meiju from the China Dairy Industry Association, and Mengniu CEO Gao Fei and Vice President Wen Yongping. The opening ceremony was presided over by Hohhot’s Vice Mayor Gao Han.

Cultivating new quality productive forces to break new ground for dairy development

In his speech, Sun Baoguo noted that China’s dairy industry has entered a critical phase. Interdisciplinary and cross-sector integration has set new requirements for industry development. Moving forward, it is essential to leverage technological innovation to cultivate new quality productive forces, accelerate breakthroughs in key core technologies, and facilitate the industrialization of significant achievements to inject more vitality into the dairy industry.

Liu Yaqing emphasized the need for deep integration of technological and industrial innovation. She called for increased innovation efforts in germplasm cultivation, product R&D, and intelligent transformation, as well as solid commercialization efforts. Additionally, she highlighted the importance of innovative resource allocation and chain collaboration to address structural contradictions and enhance the resilience of the dairy industry chain.

Liu Meiju stressed the importance of vigorously developing new quality productive forces and optimizing product lines. She urged greater innovation in dairy deep processing, full-life-cycle milk powder, and domestic probiotics to expedite import substitution and effectively tackle industry bottlenecks.

Gao Fei stated that as a leading dairy enterprise, Mengniu, guided by an all-encompassing approach to food, actively embraces cutting-edge technologies and has achieved breakthroughs in sports nutrition, probiotics, key raw materials, synthetic biology, and nutrition for special medical purposes. These advancements accelerate the formation of new quality productive forces and drive innovation across all factors of production. Mengniu is also strengthening the deep integration of industry, universities, and research institutes to bridge the “l(fā)ast mile” of research results commercialization.

Exploring nutritional frontiers and developing the “Second Curve”

“In the next development phase of the dairy industry, we need to accelerate the creation of new quality productive forces in both industrial and technological innovation to provide solutions for industry challenges and dilemmas,” said Wen Yongping, Vice President and Global Head of R&D of Mengniu in a keynote speech.

Wen Yongping highlighted that as an industry leader, Mengniu continuously increases innovation efforts in advanced fields such as deep processing and synthetic biology. Through digital, intelligent, and low-carbon transformation, the company strengthens fundamental nutrition while rapidly expanding research and development in six key nutritional functions. Mengniu continuously leads in specialized nutrition fields such as sports nutrition, food for special medical purposes, and elderly care, committed to providing consumers with more targeted nutritional services.

In recent years, Mengniu has integrated technological and industrial innovation, accelerating the commercialization of research results. The company’s independently developed human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) have received approval from China’s National Health Commission and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, breaking the foreign monopoly on key dairy raw materials. This HMO is now widely used in products like milk powder and cheese. Additionally, Mengniu has been committed to independent R&D of domestic probiotics for nearly 20 years, culminating in winning the Second Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award this year. The relevant research results have been fully applied to Mengniu’s Yoyic products, significantly contributing to consumers’ gut health.

Academicians Deng Zixin, Chen Runsheng, and Chen Jian shared a series of top-tier research achievements in synthetic biology, big data and artificial intelligence, and bio-manufacturing. They also offered in-depth insights into the future development of their respective fields, providing valuable ideas and inspiration for industry innovation. This session was chaired by Academician Ren Fazheng.

Building innovation platforms to lead the industry’s future

As a pioneer in China’s dairy research and innovation, Mengniu has partnered with top research institutions and universities across the country, blazing a trail for the deep integration of industry, universities, and research institutes, where enterprises pose questions and work with universities to solve them, with solutions tested by the market, striving to seek breakthroughs in key technologies and common challenges that restrict industry development.

At the conference, Mengniu once again entered into strategic cooperation with the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the China National Institute of Standardization, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China Agricultural University, Jiangnan University, Beijing Technology and Business University, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Inner Mongolia Agricultural University. The goal is to accelerate dairy technology R&D and application and stimulate industry innovation vitality through close collaboration.

To honor leading researchers who have made outstanding contributions to the industry, the “Mengniu Global Think Tank Awards” ceremony was held. Gao Fei presented the prestigious “Supreme Cow Award” to 13 scientists who have achieved remarkable accomplishments in their research fields. Additionally, the industry’s first Youth Innovation Fund for Dairy Nutrition and Health was launched, to encourage and support young researchers in conducting innovative studies in dairy nutrition and health, demonstrating Mengniu’s determination and foresight in promoting dairy industry innovation.

During the conference, Mengniu meticulously organized four thematic sub-forums on dairy technology, nutrition and health, digital and intelligent dairy, and sensory science to strengthen exchanges with top institutions and experts from home and abroad. At these sub-forums, industry experts, partners, and corporate representatives shared their explorations and practices in technological innovation, showcasing the latest achievements in fostering new quality productive forces for dairy development.

On the same day, Mengniu, together with the research ecosystem and upstream and downstream enterprises, released the “Dairy and Nutrition and Health Industry Innovation: A Joint Declaration in Hohhot, the Dairy Capital of China.” The signatories pledge to seek innovation-driven development, adhere to the values of quality, nutrition, green development, and collaboration, and forge ahead for a bright future for the dairy and nutrition health industry and continuous improvements in human health.

This conference not only provided a crucial platform for industry innovation and exchange but also facilitated the formation of an efficient innovation system and the deep integration of industry, universities, and research institutes. Looking to the future, Mengniu will continue to seek innovation in scientific research and gather global wisdom to form an innovation synergy, thus sustaining the strong momentum for fostering new quality productive forces and promoting the industry’s high-quality development.