The world of the dairy industry continues to change quickly.

The shortage of supply in 2007, caused in part by increasing demand from Asia and the depression of supply in other parts of the world, such as Australia and Europe, resulted in the need to develop new links and investigate alternative sourcing arrangements. These contacts have helped to accelerate further the trend toward a new international impetus for the dairy industry. Competition, together with communication among companies and new suppliers and customers, is leading to increased market activity and innovation.

Continued consolidations across the dairy world, such as the Campina/Friesland merger, will lead to further globalisation, with multinational organisations having the ability and expertise to operate in multiple markets to expand products across borders.

These wider international relationships offer the opportunity for companies to exploit synergies for joint ventures to leverage innovation and new technologies focused at better meeting consumer needs in new markets.

The continued trend towards free markets and reduced tariffs can only accelerate as the dairy industry becomes global in its outlook.

As these seismic changes take place, there is a need to look at the structures that the industry uses to cooperate and tackle issues of common interest. Globalisation creates a need to re-invent the paradigm of the not-for-profit organisations, trade bodies and federations.

Innovation has changed the product ranges and marketing communication from dairy companies. They are no longer selling just liquid milk, cheese and butter. Instead they have become multi-faceted food companies focused on competition to satisfy increasingly complex consumer needs.

To do this, companies have had to expand the expertise and capabilities within their ranks. Business cycles have shortened, resulting in faster cycles of product innovation and marketing.

At this time, we need to re-evaluate the role of generic communication and its target, looking at what is being achieved by our competitor products, often on smaller collective budgets.

If generic activity is to have a role in this new world, then we need to re-examine how it can best support commercial organisations in unlocking untapped demand in the dairy space. Too often in the past, we have shrunk away from radical action on behalf of dairy because the science was not sufficiently robust or the communication budgets too small.

Now with GDP, we have the chance to pool resources and expertise from associations and commercial companies to start to create real impact on dairy’s behalf.

Therefore, I urge my colleagues across the industry to take part in the debate and help to re-invigorate our industry communication to meet the challenges of this new world that is emerging.

- Peder Tuborgh is the CEO of Arla Foods, one of the founding members of Global Dairy Platform. He also serves on the GDP Board of Directors.