Tradition Meets Tech: Inner Mongolia’s “White Food” Is Transformed into Trendy Snacks and Drinks for New Markets.
Mongolia’s traditional dairy products, known as “Tsagaan Idee,” or “white food,” are experiencing a modern-day renaissance. Herders in northern China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, whose ancestors supplied dairy to Yuan Dynasty emperors, are now leveraging technology to transform ancient recipes for a new generation of consumers. This shift from manual, small-scale production to modern manufacturing is breathing new life into traditional products like cheese crisps and milk tea, expanding their market far beyond the grasslands.
This remarkable modernization is led by innovators like Tao Gao, the sole national-level inheritor of Tsagaan Idee craft. Using repurposed equipment, such as a sunflower-seed roaster that kneads thousands of kilograms of milk daily, Tao’s factory, Haan Idee Dairy, can scale up production while preserving the authentic taste. This blend of ancestral skill and industrial efficiency is crucial for meeting growing demand. As Tao explains, to make traditional dairy more accessible, it must be innovated to suit modern palates that are not accustomed to the traditional tastes of the pastoral areas.
The article highlights a broad wave of innovation across the region, which has seen 118 small craft studios and eight licensed industrial plants creating new products. This includes everything from mooncakes with dairy tofu and cheese pizzas to ready-to-drink Mongolian milk tea and viral dessert sensations like milk-skin yogurt. These products, packaged in fashionable designs and sold nationwide through e-commerce and major exhibitions like the Canton Fair, showcase the entrepreneurial spirit driving the region’s agribusiness sector.
The expansion of these traditional dairy products is being driven by strategic partnerships and a modern supply chain. Haan Idee, for instance, is now collaborating with a leading restaurant brand to supply milk skin to its outlets in Beijing. The production of bottled Mongolian milk tea, a traditional salty drink, has moved to a hub in Shandong Province with e-commerce centers in Hangzhou and Zhengzhou. This integrated layout demonstrates a sophisticated approach to marketization and logistics that is propelling Mongolian dairy products onto a larger national stage.
Ultimately, this movement is a powerful example of how specialization, branding, and marketization are becoming the new development trends for traditional foods. Under local guidance, herdsmen and artisans are combining ancestral skills with modern consumer needs, helping to captivate modern palates. This innovation has contributed to Inner Mongolia producing more than 7.76 million tonnes of milk in 2024, accounting for 19% of China’s total output and securing its position as a national leader in dairy economics for the seventh consecutive year.
Source: Xinhua: Modern twist boosts traditional Mongolian dairy products
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