Milo opens doors to public for first time

SINGAPORE - Generations of Singaporeans have grown up to the taste of Milo, yet few are likely to know how the well-loved chocolate malt beverage is made.

Perhaps this is rightly so, as Nestle has never before opened the doors to any of their Milo factories worldwide. Come July 2014 though, Milo Singapore will welcome primary school students onto their premises and allow them a glimpse of the company's beverage production process.

"Milo is quite possibly Singapore's national beverage that has nourished every school-going child; a beverage that every Singaporean holds dear to heart," said Mr Valerio Nannini, Managing Director for Nestle Singapore.

Named after a Roman champion athlete in Greek mythology, Milo was created by a chemist named Thomas Mayne from Nestle Australia and was first launched in Sydney in 1934. It was then introduced to Singapore two years after that.

Milo has been produced locally since 1984 in Nestle's Jurong factory - also the single largest factory for the production of malt extract in the world.

Over the years, the public has repeatedly requested for factory tours, AsiaOne understands; hence, Milo is launching the behind-the-scenes tour this year.

"When Alois (referring to Alois Hofbauer, Region Head for Nestle Malaysia/Singapore) came on board last year, we started fooling around with ideas and trying to see if we could really make it happen," said Mr Nannini.

On March 27, Nestle held a special preview of the world's first interactive Milo Discovery Tour. It was officiated by Mr Paul Bulcke, Chief Executive Officer of Nestle S.A.

The preview of the Milo Discovery Tour also marks the start of "Choose Wellness, Choose Nestle", a regional Nutrition, Health and Wellness campaign that Nestle is launching this year. With this campaign, there will be a series of upcoming events lined up to encourage and empower Singaporeans to eat well, be active and stay healthy together.

The discovery tour for kids

The Milo Discovery Tour begins at the Nestle Research and Development (R&D) Centre where students are given an iPad Air to complement the guided tour.

At each of the 6 designated discovery stations, the iPad Air will prompt students to participate in specially designed activities to accumulate Milo points, ultimately allowing them to win a prize at the end of the tour.

Highlights of the tour include the Plant Discovery Station where students are given the opportunity to get up close and view the cocoa plant, an essential ingredient in the making of Milo, as well as other plants and herbs used to enhance the taste of Nestle products. The hands-on activity that introduced students to the raw materials used in Nestle's food production was a pleasant surprise to start the tour with - that even, I learned something new!

Another noteworthy station was the Production Room. In this special room, students watch a short video about how Milo is made. The engaging and easy-to-comprehend clip was produced by Nanyang Polytechnic students. A glass window is then revealed from behind blinds to allow students a sneak peek at the actual workings of the factory.

At this point in the tour, the enthusiastic guide spewed fun facts about Milo's production, such as the amount of Milo that is produced yearly. Apparently, the Jurong factory produces enough Milo to fill 1,013 Olympic-size swimming pools.

However, it was slightly disappointing as this station is the only glimpse that we had of the factory.

Lastly, pupils arrive at the Milo Interactive Room. Here, an innovative 3D experimental video developed by Nanyang Polytechnic students is played. The film harnesses projection mapping technology that narrates the history of Milo and provides fun facts for the audience. Furthermore, children can also enjoy an immersive sports game via Kinect in the room.

Despite being designed for young children, the highly interactive tour turned out to be an enjoyable one hour experience, not only for the 14 young students of Nan Hua Primary School, but also for the "older people" who came along for the tour.

While the Milo Discovery Tour may eventually arrive in other countries as well, Singapore was chosen to pioneer the Milo Discovery Tour because of the large presence and impact Milo has in the country, according to Nestle.

"We started with a prototype, and our commitment is to keep on improving it and developing it in the months to come." said Mr Nannini.

The Milo Discovery Tour is open to primary school students, ages 9 to 12 years old. To register your interest or for more information, schools and members of the public may email milodiscoverytour@sg.nestle.com.

jthe@sph.com.sg