Our history
Ausnutria has a history dating back more than 100 years. This rich tradition forms the foundation of immense expertise and experience in producing infant formula and other types of dairy products. Some important milestones in the history of our organisation in the Netherlands are described below.
The beginnings in 1897
The history of our oldest factory can be traced to 1897, when it was founded by Mr Kramer. The factory was named "de Vechtstreek", a name still proudly borne today by the company premises. As well as butter, milk powder has been produced in Ommen since 1928.
Van Heel & Lijempf
The origin of the factory in Kampen dates back to 1903, when it was founded as the Van Heels Gecondenseerde Melkmaatschappij. It produced condensed milk. Our factory in Leeuwarden was founded in 1912, under the name Lijempf (taken from its name Leeuwarder IJs en Melkproducten Fabriek). Although the factories were originally two separate companies, their individual histories share many similarities. In 1943, Van Heel in Kampen also became part of the Lijempf group. Royal Wessanen acquired Lijempf in 1973 and from that time the focus shifted to exporting infant formula under the Bebelac brand name. Due to the increasing number of international contacts, the name of the factory was changed to Lyempf. In 1993 Lyempf was taken over by Nutricia. The factory in Leeuwarden was sold three years later. It continued life as a packaging company under the name Lypack.
Hyproca Dairy Group
In 1996 the Hyproca Dairy Group purchased the factory in Ommen, followed by a takeover of the factory in Leeuwarden in 1999. In 2007 and 2008, ownership of the Neolac and Kabrita brands was transferred to Hyproca Dairy Group. As well as cow milk, the activities expanded to include goat milk. Consequently, the Hyproca Dairy Group not only produced for third parties, but also started to market its own brands. In 2011, the Hyproca Dairy Group became part of Ausnutria Dairy Corporation ltd., based in China. The organisation continued under the name Ausnutria Hyproca. 2011 also saw the purchase of the factory in Kampen. This signalled a reunion with its former sister company in Leeuwarden. Today, the production of formula is the core activity of both production sites.
A new production site
In 2014 Ausnutria Hyproca started constructing a new production site in Heerenveen. During this period, the head office of the Dutch organisation relocated to Zwolle. It was also an era of strong growth in which the company consolidated and expanded its international position with private label services, but also with the sales of its own brands. At present, our organisation has several international sales offices, four production sites in the Netherlands and our products are exported to more than 65 countries worldwide from the Netherlands. Since 2018 all these activities have been structured under a single name: Ausnutria.
Organisational structure
Our Dutch organisation (Ausnutria B.V.), together with our sister organisation in China and the sister companies in New Zealand and Australia, is part of Ausnutria Dairy Corporation Ltd. This company is based in Hong Kong and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Together these companies form the Ausnutria Group.
Our goat milk is collected via Holland Goat Milk B.V. From this subsidiary, we cooperate with more than 50 affiliated goat farmers in the Netherlands. Our production locations are located in Ommen, Kampen, Leeuwarden and Heerenveen. These sites have all the necessary expertise and facilities to produce high quality baby and infant formula.
In addition to our production companies, the business units Ausnutria Private Label and Ausnutria Dairy Ingredients are subsidiaries of our operational group. They serve the B2B segment with their range of private label products and dairy ingredients.
The focus of Ausnutria Nutrition is driving worldwide availability of our consumer brands Neolac and Kabrita. To achieve this, we have various sales organisations worldwide and we cooperate with local teams and distributors.