dairy manufacturer A2 Corporation has resolved to change the name of the company to The A2 Milk Company Limited, effective from 8 April 2014.The Company will continue to trade on the NZX with the existing ticker code ‘ATM’. In addition to this change, the Company said the key operating subsidiaries across all markets would also change such that all trading would be unified under one common trading name.
“This may appear like just a name change,” said Geoffrey Babidge, Managing Director of The A2 Milk Company. “For The A2 Milk Company it reflects our journey from early research and entrepreneurial pioneers in New Zealand to a unified global identity, focussed on our mission to make the extraordinary benefits of A2 dairy milk understood and available to all,” he said.
“The A2 Milk Company unifies our global A2 family,” Mr Babidge said. “We are bringing together consumers, employees, dairy farmers, investors and the many independent commercial, healthcare and academic partnerships the Company is involved with around the world. This new company identity demonstrates our commitment to knowledge, rigour, quality and care in everything we do,” he said.
Products will remain the same
While the name of the business has change, the Company said the A2 milk products remained unchanged. The A2 Milk Company said it “retains its unwavering commitment to producing only A2 milk products”.
A2 Milk brand growth
The A2 milk brand has achieved over eight per cent market share in Australia, making it one of hte fastest growing major milk brands. The A2 milk products are also available in the UK, New Zealand and China in a number of forms including liquid milk, yoghurt, fresh cream and infant formula. Australian Food News reported in March 2014 that the Company had announced the US as the next priority market where it would likely launch A2 milk.
New Connotations
The expert word in the market-place of consumer-land is that the words “The … Company” carry a stronger sense of a history or tradition for the products of ”The Company” and may soften the connotations of a technology-oriented focus or any American connotation associated with the more modern etymology of the word “Corporation” .
Recent news report
The Australian newspaper reported recently that the rapid growth of The A2 Milk Company has attracted some criticism of the Company in Australia from within the Australian dairy industry.
According to The Australian, Dairy Australia, the national industry organisation funded by dairy farmers and processors, including The A2 Milk Company and its specialised A2 dairy producers, believed consumers needed to know that “all milk is nutritious and good for health” and that A2 milk is “not exclusively better or healthier than the rest”.
