Yili Group announced its "Goldrush" project on March 24, which aims to help "Westgold", a quality Westland Co-operative Dairy Company Ltd butter brand, to go global. 

Yili took over Westland on Aug 1, 2019, giving it greater access to Yili's international resources, innovations and market. Yili also offered technological and financial assistance to Westland to help its products gain global recognition. 

According to the "Goldrush" project, Yili will upgrade Westland's factory, which lies on New Zealand's west coast. The factory's history of butter-making dates back to 1893, and features the traditional "Fritz Churn" processing technique. The craft makes the butter look brighter and taste smoother and will now be combined with modern technologies in order to achieve mass production. 

The butter product "Westgold" is displayed on the shelf. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The upgraded factory is expected to reach an annual butter output of 42,000 metric tons. 

Butter is a traditional western ingredient and is now playing a significant role all over the globe, where it is used in baking, cooking and dessert-making. 

It is estimated that in the next five years, the demand for butter and related spreads will continue to grow, which means more opportunities for butter producers and processers in the market. 

Through Yili's efforts and assistance, Westland, together with its product "Westgold", is set to go global and gain an international market niche.