In celebration of World Milk Day on June 1, Bord Bia Africa is hosting a series of in-store and online campaigns throughout Africa to celebrate the health benefits of Irish milk and dairy products.

Bord Bia (The Irish Food Board) is the Irish government agency responsible for the promotion, trade development and marketing of the Irish food, drink and horticulture industry. Headquartered in Dublin, Bord Bia has a network of 15 overseas offices, including Nigeria.

The theme for this year’s World Milk Day campaign is “enjoy milk” and Bord Bia is partnering with Irish agri-food cooperative, Ornua, to help promote milk consumption in Africa for the month of June.

Bord Bia’s Regional Director for Africa, Nicolas Ranninger, said: “Africa is a key market for Irish food and beverage exports and in particular for Irish dairy companies who enjoy a solid reputation for exporting high-quality dairy produce to African countries.

“Ireland is made up of 80 % green fields where Irish cows enjoy a nutritious and natural diet. We are delighted to participate again this year in the World Milk Day celebrations and to communicate on the unique characteristics of Irish grass fed dairy.”

In 2001, World Milk Day was established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations to recognize the importance of milk as a global food, and to celebrate the dairy sector.

Each year since, the benefits of milk and dairy products have been actively promoted around the world, including how dairy supports the livelihoods of one billion people.

Bord Bia’s West Africa manager, Ese Okpomo, who is based in Lagos, Nigeria, said: “For World Milk Day 2021 there is a strong focus on sustainability in the dairy sector. Ireland’s lush green fields, fresh clean air and plentiful rain has created the perfect environment for dairy farming which converts grass into nutrient-rich, premium quality dairy products and ingredients.”

Sustainable practices, she said, are at the heart of Irish dairy farming: Grass fed has always been Ireland’s production system where dairy herds enjoy a minimum of 95% grass and grass-based forage, grazing in open pastures for an average of 240 days per year, during their lifetime.

She added: “Our aim with this year’s campaign is to drive consumption of Irish dairy outside the more traditional use of cream. We want consumers to enjoy milk in various forms and so we are encouraging consumers to make milkshakes, thereby creating a new consumption occasion for Irish dairy.”

In Nigeria, key social media influencers will be encouraging consumers to create a signature milkshake at home using Irish dairy milk powder and sharing their creations online with the hashtags #mykerrygoldmilkshake #irishdairy #worldmilkday. The most creative entry to the competition will be rewarded with a six-month supply of Kerrygold milk powder.

There will also be in-store activation including a unique “Irish ranch” where consumers who purchase Irish milk will get to make a sustainable milkshake on a special milkshake bicycle in select malls.

In South Africa, some of the country’s best-loved foodies including influencers Siba Mtongana, The Lazy Makoti, Fatima Sydow, Clement Pedro and Tannie Aletta Francina will be inviting fellow South Africans to participate in the Ultimate Butter Master at-home challenge.

The competition invites all butter-loving South Africans to compete in a fun social media challenge where they’ll create or cook one of their favourite, proudly South African dishes, using Irish butter and post their challenge video to social media, tagging @kerrygoldsouthafrica and including the hashtags #UltimateButterMaster #IrishDairy and #WorldMilkDay. The winning recipe will be featured on Woolworths TASTE magazine’s website, taste.co.za, and the bragging rights of being South Africa’s first Ultimate Butter Master.

About Bord Bia ( Irish Food Board)

Bord Bia works to enhance the reputation of Irish food, drink and horticulture, to develop markets for Irish suppliers and bring the taste of Irish food to more tables world-wide. With its headquarters in Dublin, Bord Bia’s extensive overseas presence, coupled with authoritative strategic insight, enables Bord Bia to pursue emerging opportunities and actively respond to significant market issues that affect the industry.

About Irish dairy farming

The Irish dairy sector is still predominately farmer-owned and controlled in Ireland and the 16,000 dairy farmers in Ireland (representing 95% of the milk produced in Ireland) are all members of the Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme (SDAS), a voluntary scheme operating under Bord Bia’s Origin Green, Ireland’s national food sustainability programme.