Made By Cow appeals to people's nostalgic instincts as much as their tastebuds, but there's nothing old-fashioned about the products.
Made By Cow is 100 per cent Jersey and is forging an increasingly strong presence in the Australian market.
Promoted as the world's first safe-to-drink raw milk that comes direct from the farm, to bottle, to consumer, Made By Cow is set to grow with a raft of new products in the pipeline.
This is great news for suppliers, Jersey farmers Hayley and Stewart Menzies from Nowra, NSW, and potentially other Jersey farmers in the future.
Made By Cow marketing manager Joanna Warr said the positive response from customers was driving growth.
"Customers often write to us saying that tasting our milk takes them back to their childhood -- to the days when they could get milk fresh from the farm," Ms Warr said.
"Milk is such a nostalgic product; it has the ability to take you back to those childhood moments and we feel the flavour is really enhanced because of the Jersey milk. It provides a natural profile with an abundance of nutrients and it works well with our cold press process.
"It's really rich and we feel that you can taste the difference compared to other milks on the market. It tastes similar to what you'd get off the farm; very different to heat-pasteurised milk."
Ms Warr said it was what hadn't been done to Made by Cow milk that made it unique. The milk isn't heat pasteurised, homogenised, separated, blended, diluted or standardised.
"We take our milk from the farm and put it straight into the bottle, then seal the lid and process the milk inside the bottle using high-pressure processing technology at Homebush in Sydney. The pressure removes harmful bacteria from the milk, yet it doesn't affect the profile of the milk and the flavour and nutrients remain intact.
"It's the Jersey milk that makes it really creamy, rich and full bodied."
The milk is sold in two sizes and Made By Cow also offers a range of Kefir-cultured milk products in natural, strawberry, coconut and manuka honey and vanilla bean flavours.
The Kefir products use Jersey milk as a base, which is then fermented for eight hours with live cultures. They then add real fruit and honey, creating a range between yoghurt and milk enriched with probiotics that are good for the stomach.
Made By Cow has big plans in the pipeline.
"We have eyes on becoming a fully functional dairy brand and we're looking at lots of other dairy products," Ms Warr said.
The plans and positive outlook are good news for the Menzies family who milk 600 Jerseys at Nowra.
Stewart and Hayley have been on the farm for 17 years and three years ago purchased the Brunchilli Jerseys herd from Hayley's parents, removing most of the Holsteins from their herd.
"We had a market for Jersey milk in Sydney with two different suppliers, Made By Cow and Harris Farm Markets' private label and we saw that as a potential to grow the business," Hayley said.
They supply both Made By Cow and Harris Farm Markets, while the bulk of their milk goes to Parmalat.
Hayley said moving to a predominantly Jersey herd made good business sense.
"Jerseys give us better quality milk and with all of the good management traits that Jerseys have, it wasn't a difficult decision," she said.
Related reading:
They were initially approached by Harris Farm after their previous supplier discontinued. "They were looking for a Jersey herd and a friend recommended us," Hayley said.
Once a second vat was installed to separate the Jersey and Holstein milk, they started supplying Harris Farm and after about six months of testing they added Made By Cow to their list of clients.
"Because Made By Cow is bottled as a raw product, we had to meet stringent testing and quality guidelines so we installed a teat scrubber and routinely presanitise the plant and vats before collection. We've always been able to achieve those goals," Hayley said.
Hayley and Stewart love hearing positive comments about their milk. "Made By Cow has had a huge response from the public," Hayley said. "Because the milk isn't pasteurised or homogenised, it settles like milk you'd collect on farm and take home in a jug. A lot of people say it reminds them of their grandparents' farm; how milk used to taste."
Made By Cow is in every state and constantly introducing products into new markets.
"Being the supplier to these brands is a great source of pride for us," Hayley said "It's a luxury product and they want it to be rich and have that nice cream on top."
Sign up below to receive our e-newsletter delivered fresh to your email in-box twice a week.
