Lewis Road Creamery, the small dairy company based in New Zealand, recently struck into a culinary goldmine when they started combining the country's most beloved chocolate brand with their own organic milk. This artisan chocolate milk, created with the beloved Whittaker's Chocolate, has been lapped up not only by native Kiwi's, but by Australians, as the delicious concoction has already been exported across the Tasman Sea. There is even talk of a public float down the line, which could see the drink and the rest of the company's products being exported outside of Australasia!
Even though New Zealand is renowned for its expansive green fields and herds of cattle, the lion's share of its quality butter had always been imported
The journey from local producer to exporter began with the dairy's butter, which first entered into the New Zealand market in 2012. Even though the country is renowned for its expansive green fields and herds of cattle, the lion's share of its quality butter had always been imported. That is until Lewis Road founder and former Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide chief operating officer Peter Cullinane spotted a serious gap in the Kiwi dairy market. He said that he “Thought the quality of New Zealand butter was pretty ordinary because it's treated as something of an afterthought." After deciding which road he was going to take the company down he actually began researching how to make butter online via YouTube tutorials. It was far from an instant success, as many batches were produced before he hit upon a perfect formula, but once he did, and the word started to spread, the orders really began stacking up, and the company built a steady reputation as a producer of quality dairy products.
A (worryingly) enthusiastic taste test of the Lewis Road Creamery Chocolate Milk
Once the realm of butter was effectively mastered, Cullinane decided to move on to milk, the other huge dairy staple. Again, Cullinane was unapologetic about his views on the milk produced in his native country. He believed most of the “Standard milk” produced in New Zealand was “Pretty ordinary; almost a by-product on an industry that's really focused on milk powder." He attempted to rectify this by producing completely organic milk, which quickly led to chocolate milk, and if the founder has his way, the perpetual expansion won't stop there. Cullinane has said he intends to effectively work his way down the dairy isle.
Lewis Road founder and former Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide chief operating officer Peter Cullinane spotted a serious gap in the Kiwi dairy market
He adds that he feels the company now needs to look at repeating their native success in Australia, believing that Australians also lack premium, readily available dairy products. The only comparable product would be the Sydney-based butter makers Pepe Saya, but this is not a mainstream product. Cullinane, on the other hand, is serious about bringing his artisan butter and dairy products into the mainstream, explaining how he would love their “Premium butter in Coles and Woolworths,” the largest supermarket chains in Australia. He also sees floatation as a realistic prospect in the near future, and says it's something he would “Love to go through the process of,” but feels it's not on their radar right now, adding the caveat, “But who knows what we might do down the track?”
Official Lewis Road Creamery Website
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and huge chocolate milk fan from Kidderminster in the UK. Artisan chocolate milk sounds like a great idea, though he worries about what effects it's introduction in the UK would have on his waistline.
