The certificate granted to Yili Group [Photo provided to en.hhhtnews.com]

Chinese dairy giant, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, or Yili – based in Hohhot, capital city of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region – won the Nomination Award in the China Grand Awards for Industry for its outstanding contribution to industrial development and innovation on March 19.

It is the only dairy company to have won this award.

Yili's R&D investment ranks first in China's dairy industry. Focusing on the key areas of international dairy R&D, Yili has integrated R&D resources at home and abroad, and built a global innovation network that includes the world's leading R&D institutions. It has also built 15 innovation centers around the world.

As of the end of December 2022, the total number of Yili's global patent applications and invention applications ranks second among the world's top 10 dairy companies. Yili has successively won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, the title of best infant nutrition dairy product, and other domestic and international innovation awards.

According to the 2022 China Market Report from Brand Footprint, released by Kantar Worldpanel, Yili Group continues to top the list of "brands most chosen by consumers". They have a brand penetration rate of 92.4 percent and a consumer touchpoint of 1.3 billion,

Kantar Worldpanel's brand tracking results also show that Yili has remained the "most preferred brand" with Chinese consumers for 10 consecutive years.

Co-founded by the China Federation of Industrial Economics and 12 major industrial federations, with the approval of the State Council, the China Grand Awards for Industry is recognized as the top award in the industrial sector in China. The award is aimed at commending benchmark industrial businesses and projects, and encouraging industrial progress as well as economic development in the nation.