RFM enters market for ready-to-drink milk

RFM Corp. has entered venture into the ready-to-drink (RTD) milk business through its recently launched Selecta Fortified Filled Milk product.

RFM Corp. president and chief executive officer Jose Concepcion III told reporters that the company sees huge potential in the RTD milk market which is currently dominated by the more expensive fresh and non-fat milk manufacturers.

The RTD milk market, Concepcion pointed out, is currently worth only about P4.5 billion, as the bulk of the market remains with the powdered milk segment.

However, Concepcion said except for the Philippines, Indonesia and one other Latin American country, most of the milk sold globally is already in liquid or RTD form.

But the foresees the trend, of going into RTD milk that would provide convenience, safety and affordability.

RFM’s Selecta Fortified Filled Milk is conveniently packed in tetrapak beverage cartons and uses purified water. Most powdered milk users either use ordinary tap water which may not be safe, or expensive mineral water which increases the cost of the milk drink, Concepcion noted.

RFM’s white milk product is priced at a more affordable P43 for the one liter pack compared to a competitor brand which cost P55 for a similar volume; P12.50 for a 250 ml pack compared to P17 for the competing brand, and P6.85 for the 150-ml size.

Concepcion said RFM is positioning its milk product for the C, D and E segments. In fact, he said the product will hopefully become known as the "people’s milk."

At present, RFM produces a variety of RTD juice and chocolate milk beverages under the brands Sunkist and Selecta Moo.

RFM’s beverage business is currently worth around P1 billion but with the introduction of its white milk product, Concepcion predicts that it would eventually be a major revenue earner for the company in as short as one year.

RFM is also using a novel way to market its latest milk product by offering "negosyo" packages to small communities that would be interested in distributing Selecta Fortified Filled Milk products.