“Composition of milk production”- instead of colored and illustrated labels: the high-quality milk producer “Yeremyan Products” introduced its rebranded version. We spoke with Ruben Siradeghyan, the director of the “Yeremyan Products” factory, about the attempts to copy the brand, the importance of presenting high-quality dairy products to consumers and consumption of labeled dairy products.

- What does the new package stand for? Which are the peculiarities?

- Both we and our consumers liked the first version of “Yeremyan Products” branding, but today we have something new to say to consumers: this is why rebranding is primarily needed.

Our rebranding is more informational than simply a change in appearance. The new packaging has a minimalist style, and our new brand concept places the accent on complete information rather than nice colors and illustrations. With this new approach, we also set a goal to educate and guide so that the customer makes the right choice.

First of all, the consumer must receive the necessary information, on the basis of which he or she will know how to distinguish high-quality products and what standards to be guided by when choosing dairy products. This is the reason the dairy products of the highest quality must have appropriate labeling, information presented in an accessible and comprehensive manner.

We always talk about our production process, and it’s time for the consumers to see it on their own. We have illustrated the whole process of our milk production on the bottle - “From seed to table”.

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Image by: Yeremyan Products

We clearly show how we sow the seeds, how we get the feed, how it is processed and how it gets to the animals, how the process of production, packaging, transportation and reaching the consumer takes place. The information on the bottle word for word and letter for letter matches its composition. No one has the right to give the consumer incomplete, even more so wrong information: the consumer must know what he or she is buying, what he or she is using, what the components are and how it reached him or her.
Today we have a food security problem in the country, we simply do not know what we are consuming. Incomplete information, as recent events have shown, can confuse consumers, disorient them and in general distort consumer behavior and culture. As a result, consumers may prefer products of unknown origin, unhealthy composition and harmful additives to nutritious, natural and healthy products like milk.

It is fundamental for us that the information provided to consumers is complete and accessible. They must know why to choose that particular product, what to pay attention to first, what the most important indicators are, what each indicator written on the label represents.

- What are the main features of high-quality products? Is there any marking that will help consumers to orient?

- We have done a lot of research and analysis on milk production in almost every country in the world. After studying international best practices and standards, we found that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has clear regulations defining standards for high-grade milk, designating their group as grade A.

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Image by: Yeremyan Products

Grade A is the benchmark that combines the highest standards, strict production rules and procedures. This milk qualification practice is not yet applied in Armenia. We have assumed the responsibility to present grade A dairy products to our consumers, setting a high quality standard both for us and for Armenia’s milk production sector. Grade A milk is produced under strict sanitary control. To be classified as grade A milk, it must meet the set requirements of nutritional composition, microbiological composition, appearance, which are quite strict.

First of all, milk must be clean and natural, it must contain enough fat and protein, it must not contain added water, preservatives and other extraneous substances. Milk must not contain harmful bacteria. Compliance with these standards requires precise management of the entire milk production process, from health of the cow to milk processing.

Of course, milk production with such standards is not an easy process, but we have a clear goal to present only high-quality products and to form a new culture of milk production and consumption.

- And what makes your product different from others, what new products can we expect in the near future?

- There are a lot of differences. First of all, I should note that we have adopted the idea of “One Farm”, which means that milk is only milk of cows kept and bred on our farm, and we do not buy milk from other business owners or farmers: for us, this is a matter of principle. We have set very strict control.

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Image by: Yeremyan Products

For example, cured and vaccinated animals are kept separately and their milk is not used. In our case, the entire process of milk production is a distinctive feature in itself.

We are expanding our product range. This year we will expand our production volumes and present a wide range of European cheeses.

- After Yeremyan Products, a similar product appeared on the market. Moreover, the bottle, colors and packaging were copied. Can we say that one of the reasons for rebranding was the attempt to copy the brand?

- When a brand is created and is successful, it is copied. This is a widespread practice in Armenia. Therefore, I cannot rule out that copying was one of the reasons.

After all, duplicating a brand may be easy in some respects, but it is not the same for a high-quality product. And while competing we must focus not on branding, but on the high quality of the product.