From October 16 to 19, the 2023 IDF World Dairy Summit, themed “Boundless Potential, Endless Possibilities,” took place in Chicago to facilitate the exchange of insights on the high-quality development of the dairy industry. Participants included representatives from dairy producers, experts, scholars, and delegates from industrial organizations worldwide.

Dr. Yun Zhanyou, newly elected IDF board member and Vice President of Yili Group, was invited to deliver a keynote speech titled “Innovation Leads to Boundless Possibilities” at the roundtable on “Dairy Processing Around the World: Today’s Focus, Tomorrow’s Vision”, and participated in the guest roundtable discussion. Dr. Yun Zhanyou said:“Amid profound changes in the global macro environment, innovation is the only way to drive high-quality development in the dairy industry and meet the ever-growing standards demanded by consumers. Yili has always adhered to a consumer-centric approach, pooling global innovation resources to achieve world-class innovation, with the aim of creating more opportunities and exploring boundless possibilities for the global dairy industry.”

During the summit, Yili held a breakfast meeting on “Industry Innovation and Outlook”, where Piercristiano Brazzale, President of the IDF, Caroline Emond, Director General of the IDF, Dr. Yao Su, Chair of the IDF SCAMDM, Marcel de Vreeze, Committee Manager of the Royal Netherlands Standardization Institute, Dr. Yun Zhanyou, Vice President of Yili Group, and Dr. Gerrit Smit, Managing Director of Yili Innovation Center Europe exchanged insights on a range of topics, including how innovation can help traditional dairy producers to achieve breakthrough, and how the dairy industry can contribute to a sustainable future.

IDF President Piercristiano Brazzale stressed the importance of innovation. “Innovation is all about introducing novel approaches to the design, production and marketing of goods and services to create positive change. It is the driving force that propels us forward and allows us to remain at the forefront of our field.”

Yili presented a “dream team” of its flagship products such as liquid milk, milk powder, yoghurt, cheese, and ice cream, including those from Ausnutria Dairy, showcasing the world-class innovation capabilities and premium quality of the Chinese dairy industry. A number of innovative products by Yili’s star brands AMBPOMIAL, SATINE and SHUHUA were brought to the event as representatives of the liquid milk segment – the Group’s cornerstone business. Professor Kasper Hettinga from Wageningen University, a key research partner of Yili Innovation Center Europe, also visited the Yili booth and said, “I could already see from the very beginning, that we have joint interest in milk research and infant formula research. We are interested in better understanding milk. We always hope that for Yili, this knowledge is useful in developing new products. ”

The 2023 World Dairy Summit presented a great opportunity for Yili to demonstrate its innovation outcomes and practices through exchanges and dialogues with the global dairy community, connecting China’s dairy industry with the world.