---
title: "Why Has Low-Temperature Milk Suddenly Become So Popular?"
description: "On January 22, CCTV Finance reported that the pandemic has boosted consumer awareness of dairy products, leading to a significant increase in sales, especially for low-temperature milk, which is increasingly favored by consumers. As a result, many dairy companies have stepped up their布局 in the low-temperature milk market. A staff member at a Shenzhen supermarket said that sales of low-temperature milk in their store grew faster than ambient-temperature milk, with both low-temperature fresh milk and low-temperature yogurt seeing substantial year-on-year growth. Meanwhile, online sales of low-temperature milk grew even faster. According to data from Tmall, in 2020, sales of ambient-temperature milk increased by 50% year-on-year, while low-temperature milk sales surged by 150%."
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published: "2021-01-28"
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# Why Has Low-Temperature Milk Suddenly Become So Popular?

> On January 22, CCTV Finance reported that the pandemic has boosted consumer awareness of dairy products, leading to a significant increase in sales, especially for low-temperature milk, which is increasingly favored by consumers. As a result, many dairy companies have stepped up their布局 in the low-temperature milk market. A staff member at a Shenzhen supermarket said that sales of low-temperature milk in their store grew faster than ambient-temperature milk, with both low-temperature fresh milk and low-temperature yogurt seeing substantial year-on-year growth. Meanwhile, online sales of low-temperature milk grew even faster. According to data from Tmall, in 2020, sales of ambient-temperature milk increased by 50% year-on-year, while low-temperature milk sales surged by 150%.

On January 22, CCTV Finance reported that the pandemic has boosted consumer awareness of dairy products, leading to a significant increase in sales, especially for low-temperature milk, which is increasingly favored by consumers. As a result, many dairy companies have stepped up their布局 in the low-temperature milk market.
A staff member at a Shenzhen supermarket said that sales of low-temperature milk in their store grew faster than ambient-temperature milk, with both low-temperature fresh milk and low-temperature yogurt seeing substantial year-on-year growth.
Meanwhile, online sales of low-temperature milk grew even faster. According to data from Tmall, **in 2020, sales of ambient-temperature milk increased by 50% year-on-year, while low-temperature milk sales surged by 150%.**
Pasteurized milk is liquid milk sterilized using pasteurization (heating at 72-90°C for 10-15 seconds), a method that maximizes the retention of nutrients and active substances in fresh milk. In contrast, ambient-temperature milk is produced using ultra-high temperature sterilization, which involves instantaneous sterilization at 120-150°C for 0.5-4 seconds.
**Due to the lower sterilization temperature, pasteurized milk contains more nutrients than high-temperature sterilized milk, such as immunoglobulins and lactoferrin.**
According to Euromonitor data, the pasteurized milk market reached 34.3 billion yuan in 2019, up 11.6% year-on-year (with growth rates of 6.1%, 8.2%, 9.7%, and 10.7% in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 respectively). It is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.9% from 2018 to 2024, higher than the 4.2% for ambient white milk. This growth is driven by increased consumer health awareness, consumer education by major domestic and international dairy companies, and improved delivery efficiency on e-commerce platforms.
According to data from Tmall, **in 2020, sales of ambient-temperature milk increased by 50% year-on-year, while low-temperature milk sales surged by 150%.**
The penetration rate of low-temperature milk is also rising. According to the fresh milk delivery report released by Ele.me in 2020, the market penetration of low-temperature fresh milk exceeded 30% in the past year. In cities such as Xiamen, Nanning, Suzhou, and Wuxi, consumers are more willing to pay for low-temperature fresh milk, with market penetration exceeding 40%. In Shanghai, Nantong, and Hefei, penetration reached 38%.
New Hope Dairy's third-quarter report shows that its single-quarter revenue in Q3 was 2.1 billion yuan, up 39% year-on-year; net profit attributable to listed company shareholders was 108 million yuan, up 45.46% year-on-year. During the reporting period, sales of New Hope's first fresh milk brand, 24-hour pasteurized fresh milk, continued to grow at a high double-digit rate.
Another low-temperature milk giant, Bright Dairy, also achieved nearly 10% revenue growth in the first three quarters of this year and stated that it will continue to upgrade its low-temperature products and maintain strong momentum in this segment.
In addition to regional dairy companies, the two dairy giants Yili and Mengniu, which primarily focus on ambient-temperature milk, are also gearing up in the low-temperature milk sector.
At the end of October this year, the joint venture "Kenu Dairy Products Co., Ltd." established by Mengniu and Coca-Cola was officially formed, with the two companies jointly creating a new low-temperature milk brand. Earlier, at the end of 2019, Yili Group's Jinshan branch official WeChat account "Yili Good Fresh Milk" released three new low-temperature fresh milk (pasteurized milk) products, which was seen by the industry as a sign of Yili accelerating its布局 in the low-temperature fresh milk segment.
Facing the entry of giants like Mengniu and Yili, both domestic and international, Chairman of New Hope Dairy, Xi Gang, once said that if major players in the industry are all focusing on the pasteurized milk category, it indicates that the opportunity for this category has arrived, and a good category needs more people to promote or participate in order to expand the channel.
In the view of economist Song Qinghui, **the major dairy companies are increasing their investment in the low-temperature fresh milk category because they value its high growth rate.**
A research report released by Huachuang Securities, titled "Key Feedback from Dairy Industry Expert Exchange: Analysis of International Dairy Situation and Development of China's Dairy Industry," points out that in terms of category structure, the share of low-temperature milk will accelerate, and the true high-growth phase for low-temperature milk has arrived. **Given the marketing capabilities and resource allocation abilities of China's large dairy enterprises, it is expected that the overall low-temperature milk industry can grow from the current 30 billion yuan to 50 billion yuan in the next 3-5 years.**
The development of cold chain logistics has reduced the regional limitations of low-temperature milk. According to data from the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing Cold Chain Committee and iResearch, China's cold chain logistics market reached 303.5 billion yuan in 2018, up 19% year-on-year, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 24.4% from 2018 to 2020.
China attaches great importance to the development of cold chain logistics, with frequent policy releases. In March 2019, 24 departments including the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Transport jointly issued the "Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Logistics Development and Fostering a Strong Domestic Market," which proposed strengthening the construction of cold chain logistics systems for agricultural products in production areas and developing new cold chain logistics models such as "fresh e-commerce + cold chain home delivery" and "central kitchens + ingredient cold chain distribution."
Improvements in cold chain logistics efficiency will extend the transportation radius of low-temperature milk, breaking through regional restrictions. At the same time, the expansion of cold chain logistics scale will also help amortize transportation costs for low-temperature milk.
Fresh e-commerce provides an efficient sales platform for pasteurized milk: from 2014 to 2018, the fresh e-commerce market grew at a compound annual rate of 65%. Under the pandemic in early 2020, consumer shopping habits accelerated.
**Low-temperature milk has a short shelf life but high consumption frequency, requiring high turnover. Fresh e-commerce acts as both terminal outlets and milkmen, directly connecting manufacturers and consumers, reducing intermediate links, which reduces losses and improves circulation efficiency. At the same time, the high-frequency consumption and high freshness requirements of low-temperature milk align with the needs of fresh e-commerce target customers, and the products are relatively standardized, which can increase the average order value on e-commerce platforms and reduce unit delivery costs.**
For example, Bright Dairy cooperates with fresh platforms such as Miss Fresh and Hema Fresh, and New Hope has signed a strategic agreement with Miss Fresh.
Dairy companies are also actively seeking change and embracing new retail. For example, in 2019, Bright Dairy's "Bright Suixindin" made a breakthrough, opening the prelude to national expansion, and formally reached a strategic cooperation with Alibaba Cloud Computing Co., Ltd. to jointly promote Bright Dairy's digital transformation, aiming to build a digital management system for the entire industry chain through big data-driven empowerment, better迎接 the new retail era.
Dairy companies are continuously upgrading their product structures, with functional new products meeting segmented demands.
In 2019, Bright Dairy's high-end fresh milk series, Youbei and Zhiyou, grew by over 20% and 50% respectively. In 2019, it launched the ultra-high-end Junshan series with a protein content of 3.8g/100ml, and also introduced Youbei products with 0% fat, 50% reduced fat, and 0% lactose to meet the segmented needs of some consumers. New Hope launched 24-hour fresh milk, ushering in the era of 72°C pasteurization. Zhongken Dairy launched "Huashanmu" high-quality fresh milk, emphasizing high active protein content.
Continuous consumer education is being promoted. The lactoferrin and immunoglobulin content in low-temperature milk is significantly higher than in high-temperature sterilized milk. We observe that more and more low-temperature milk companies are labeling this feature prominently on packaging to continuously educate consumers. On the other hand, dairy companies organize consumer visits to pastures and conduct offline community education to strengthen consumers' awareness of pasteurized milk as "fresh milk" and "containing active substances."
Currently, **in mature markets such as East China, with Shanghai as a benchmark, companies are continuously expanding into lower-tier markets while using high-end products to break through the ceiling. In addition, low-temperature milk consumption in Southwest, Northeast, Central China, and North China is expected to accelerate. These regions have relatively abundant milk sources, and large low-temperature dairy companies have rich operational experience, making it highly likely they will succeed in capturing incremental markets.**
The wind has risen, and the future low-temperature milk market may present a prosperous scene of "thousands of pear trees blooming."
Source: Shiwu (ID: food-gonsis)
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