China Mengniu Dairy Company Limited (Chinese: 蒙牛; ) is a manufacturing and distribution company of dairy products in the People's Republic of China, including Hong Kong and Macau. The company is based in Inner Mongolia and manufactures dairy products under the Mengniu (Mongolian Milk) brand.
China Mengniu Dairy Company Limited's products include liquid milk products, such as ultra heat treated (UHT) milk, yogurt and milk beverages, ice cream and other dairy products, such as milk powder and milk tablets. During the year ended December 31 2005, the Company operated 14 production bases with an aggregate annual production capacity of 2.78 million tons. China Mengniu Dairy Company Limited's operates in three segments: the liquid milk products segment, which manufactures and distributes processed UHT milk, milk beverages and yogurt; the ice cream products segment, which manufactures and distributes ice cream products, and the other dairy products segment, which manufactures and distributes processed milk powder and milk tablets products. The name Mengniu literally means 'Mongolian cow'.
The owner and founder of Mengniu is Mr. Niu Gensheng, a former employee of Yili, another Inner Mongolian dairy giant which is now Mengniu's largest competitor. He started the company in 1999, and the company's textbook growth has swept the country by storm.
The company is a leading manufacturer of milk, yoghurt and other dairy products in mainland China, partly due to its high-profile advertising campaigns. One such campaign advertised "special milk for China's astronauts" after the successful launches of the Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6 spacecraft(in fact the company sponsors the Chinese space program), and Mengniu also sponsored the popular SuperGirl contest. SuperGirl Zhang Hanyun (aka Baby Zhang) became associated with Mengniu's brand, appearing in Mengniu's commercials, which became instrumental in her elevation to fame. In marketing campaigns, it also uses the slogan "中國牛 世界牛 蒙牛", which metaphorically means "China go strong; World go strong; Mengniu".
