A signing ceremony is held for the cooperation agreement between Yili Group and Ausnutria on Oct 27. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co Ltd (Yili Group) invested in Ausnutria Dairy Corporation and became its biggest shareholder on Oct 27, bolstering its position in the infant formula milk powder and nutritious food sector.

The cooperation between Yili Group and Ausnutria is expected to bring major benefits to both sides. Yili is a leading company in the dairy industry, as well as the only Chinese dairy company to rank among the top 5 in the world and to focus on healthy food.

Ausnutria is a fast-growing international infant formula and nutrition and health company, and operates one of the world's best goat milk brands.

The two will cooperate in terms of supply chain, channels, and product layout.

After successfully ranking among the top five dairy companies in the world in 2020, Yili has set goals to rank among the top three dairy companies in the world by 2025 and rank first by 2030.

Statistics show that in the first half of 2021, Yili's infant formula business achieved year-on-year growth of more than 20 percent.

The latest data from Nielsen shows that in August 2021, Jinlingguan, Yili's infant formula milk powder brand became the fastest growing infant formula brand in the Chinese market.