Western District farmers are supplying a new dairy processing factory selling into the Geelong market.
The Kyvalley Dairy Group is behind the launch of Geelong Dairy, now selling whole milk and light milk into Coles and Woolworths outlets in the Geelong and Surf Coast regions in southern Victoria.
The company is the only Geelong dairy processor and is using the factory formerly owned by Organic Dairy Farmers of Australia, which went out of business last year.
The new Geelong business has been established by the Remarkable Milk company, which is owned by the Kyvalley Dairy Group and is sourcing milk from four suppliers in the Western District.
Remarkable Milk chief executive officer Alastair McCredden said the business had found suppliers for the factory in the Western District through advertising and using their established networks.
“It's been a pretty good season for most Victorian dairy regions, with milk production rising,” he said.
“We're a dairy business with a long family history, which makes us a bit different to other dairy processors.
“We've always paid a fair price with an emphasis on stability.
“The family knows that dealing with big fluctuations is not sustainable.”
The Geelong factory is producing full-cream and light milk varieties in one-, two- and three-litre packs, as well as 250 gram packs of organic butter.
Mr McCredden said they were on the brink of moving into production of an organic milk pack under the ‘True Organic’ label.
Although national demand for organic milk had recently been flat, he said they believed a strong local brand with a reputation for quality could make some gains in the area.
The Geelong factory, in Cowie St, employs about 34 people.
Mr McCredden said the factory was operating at about 40 per cent of capacity so they were looking to increase throughput as demand increased.
He said the brand had been in development for more than 12 months and was driven by the Kyvalley Dairy Group, which has a long history in dairying.
“We are a family-owned dairy business that has been operating in regional communities for over 160 years.
“We see the Geelong Dairy brand, that is processed and packed by our passionate team in Geelong, as a real opportunity to connect with the Geelong region.
“Strategically the factory is a really important asset to the business, one we hope to see thrive, expand and offer an exciting new career choice to the workers of Geelong, all while bringing quality local products to market.”
The parent company, Kyvalley Dairy Group, is owned by the Mulcahy family and processes more than one million litres of milk annually at Kyabram (in northern Victoria) and Geelong, with a range of whole milk products including A2, A1 and organic.
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The company has been exporting fresh milk to China for years via air freight and using a specialised chilling process.
“Through our partnerships in China we have developed an enviable reputation for supplying sustainable, safe, high-quality fresh milk,” Mr McCredden said.