On August 22, Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand valuation and strategy consultancy, issued its Food & Drink 2023 report. Yili’s brand value surged to US$12.4 billion, making a 17% increase compared to the previous year. Yili has retained the top spot for four consecutive years, showcasing its robust growth potential.

As highlighted by Brand Finance, Yili, a global dairy giant, has earned a world-renowned reputation with its focus on quality, innovation and social responsibility. The consultancy underscored that, “Yili has fostered strong customer loyalty in its local market by consistently delivering products of exceptional quality and perceived health benefits. This has contributed to strong domestic sales growth, while the brand’s global presence has also propelled its overseas revenue.”

“Dual-engine” for fast-paced growth

Yili’s “dual-engine” strategy – one that features both innovation and digitization – has greatly contributed to its brand value growth. Yili has set up a three-tiered R&D platform that includes the open innovation platform, group innovation center and BU-level application innovation platform. Running 15 R&D and innovation centers across the globe, Yili has been relentlessly pursuing whole industrial chain innovation collaboration that extends from pastures to end products.

Yili has continued its efforts aimed at meeting consumers’ diverse demands for healthier food. In 2023, Yili has led the industry by launching multiple functional dairy products that help boost people’s immune systems or control their blood-sugar levels. SATINE active lactoferrin organic pure milk, for example, is a newly launched star product that was created after 3 years of R&D, drastically improving the lactoferrin retention rate from 10% to over 90%. The new product has played a pioneering role in the industry by creating an entirely new category of immune-boosting dairy products.

Yili has also been stepping up its supply-chain digital transformation. Toward the upstream, it has developed a series of world-leading smart farms that operate without human intervention throughout their processes. Toward the midstream, it has launched numerous smart factories featuring enhanced production and management efficiency. And toward the downstream, Yili has adopted a digital consumer operation approach that covers both online and offline consumption, reaching all types of consumer scenarios and spanning the entire product life cycle.

By putting digital technology into comprehensive application, Yili has step-by-step effected digital and intelligent upgrading throughout the entire operations chain, covering various functions including R&D, manufacturing, supply chains and marketing.

Realizing the company’s social value

In April 2022, Yili became the first Chinese food company to release its peak carbon emission and carbon neutrality targets as well as a roadmap which includes a long-term pledge to achieve carbon neutrality throughout the industrial chain by 2050. Since then, Yili has gradually rolled out its carbon reduction plans and worked together with partners throughout the industrial chain to curb energy consumption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment.

Last year, a focus on reducing water footprints opened a new chapter for Yili’s sustainability journey. In March 2023, Yili led China’s food industry by obtaining the international water footprint verification both at the product and organizational levels. It also became China’s first company to join the UN Water Action Agenda.

As the world’s most valuable dairy brand, Yili is committed to achieving not only its own commercial success but also the sustainable development of the entire dairy industry. In pursuit of its dream of “World Integrally Sharing Health,” Yili will continue to enhance its global partnerships, innovation and digitalization to further improve its product and service quality.