‘LB Bulgaricum and Japan’s Meiji will set up an R&D centre to develop new dairy and other products containing the bacterium Lactobacillus bulgaricus. Today the two companies signed a Letter of Intent and the commitment was confirmed at institutional level by the Minister of Economy and Industry Nikola Stojanov and the Ambassador of Japan H.E. Hiroshi Narahira. The initiative is in connection with the 50th anniversary of the launch of Bulgarian yoghurt on the Japanese market.
‘The partnership between LB and Meiji over the years has become one of the symbols of the relations between our two countries,’ Minister Stojanov stressed. In his words, it is very important to identify joint initiatives to build on what has been achieved so far, but also to develop innovative products to retain interest in the unique Bulgarian bacterium. ‘We are celebrating half a century of successful partnership, but now is the time to lay the foundations for the next 50 years, which will bring even more results,’ Nikola Stojanov stressed.
The Japanese company is also making consistent efforts for a larger presence on the Chinese market, and the Bulgarian yogurt is already available there, it became clear during the meeting.
Minister Stojanov also presented the plans for the development of the state-owned LB Bulgaricum and the interest of other countries to acquire a Bulgarian license, following the example of cooperation with Japan. ‘We are in advanced talks with countries from the Middle East and we hope that soon we will have other positive examples to promote Bulgaria through our unique yoghurt,’ the Bulgarian minister further commented.
During the meeting, the prices of LB Bulgaricum in the Bulgarian retail network were also discussed. ‘With the right actions we managed to make the products, which are known even in the Far East for their quality, to be offered at some of the lowest prices in Bulgaria,’ said Nikola Stojanov. According to him, one of the main objectives of the state-owned dairy company is to ensure authenticity of taste and quality standard, at the best possible prices.
The meeting was attended by executives from the State Consolidation Company, LB Bulgaricum and the Japanese company Meiji.