The German skincare company Zollmann Stutenmilch GmbH is looking to expand its range of products — including some containing horse’s milk from Kazakhstan’s S-Agro-Borovskoe. In September 2023 the Kazakhs opened a farm for producing powdered mare’s milk under the ‘Local Food’ brand in the Kostanay region, employing 150 people.
“The German company has been breeding horses since the 1970s, and in 1990 started producing freeze-dried mare’s milk. Its farm in the town of Mühlben is the largest and oldest enterprise in Germany specializing in the production of kymyz [mare’s milk]. We signed an agreement for further cooperation in Germany,” said the director of S-Agro-Borovskoe, Meiram Akhmetzhanov.
Local Food’s kymyz is produced on a farm equipped with an automated milking system that collects fresh milk in cooling tanks without contacting air, which prevents pathogenic bacteria from entering the product. The milk is then pasteurized, cooled and frozen in a freeze dryer to produce a 100% organic, dry product with a shelf life of up to two years — a major improvement, considering that fresh mare’s milk can only be stored for two hours.
Hans Zollmann, founder of Zollmann Stutenmilch GmbH, emphasized that the Kazakh company has become an exclusive partner and explained that the new agreement will include the production of organic cosmetics based on mare’s milk. “The signed agreement is a new stage of our cooperation with Kazakhstan, especially with Kostanay. We plan to produce [all the same products that] we produce in Germany here in Kazakhstan. I have devoted my whole life to the production of mare’s milk and I believe that Kazakhstan has great opportunities in this area, as this drink is their national treasure,” Zollmann added.
The launch of Local Food cosmetics is scheduled for the third quarter of 2024, and will create an additional 30 jobs. In the future, S-Agro-Borovskoe is also considering the production of sports nutrition products, baby food and pharmaceutical supplements.
