New milk provides closer-to-farm-gate taste experience

Media release

October 21, 2013

New milk provides closer-to-farm-gate taste experience

Lewis Road Creamery is expanding its premium offering down the dairy aisle with the launch of a range of organic Jersey milks that are a first for New Zealand and provide a ‘from-the-farmgate’ taste experience.

Lewis Road Creamery Organic Jersey Milk is the first 100 percent Jersey milk to be available on supermarket shelves. Jersey milk is renowned for being richer and creamier in taste and texture, and combined with being organic, whole milk that is free from both permeate and palm kernel expeller, delivers a top quality product that surpasses standard milk.

“It’s milk the way it should be,” says Lewis Road Creamery founder Peter Cullinane.

“As a dairy producing nation, one would expect that the milk we produce would be something special. But with the big players’ focus on technology and volume, more emphasis seems to go into the packaging than the product inside.

“We’re turning that on its head with our focus on quality ahead of quantity and our desire to bring New Zealanders a less processed and better tasting option.”

In standard practice, milk producers combine the milk of various breeds of cows and then break the milk down into its constituent parts before re-assembling back into milk.

“It’s a little like a winemaker combining all the various grape varieties into one big tub and making a generic product called ‘wine’, rather than celebrating the particular properties of a pinot noir or chardonnay for example,” Peter says.

“We don’t think milk should be treated like a commodity but instead celebrated as an example of New Zealand dairying at its best. And it’s a view shared by our bottler based in Mangatawhiri, Green Valley Dairy.”

Lewis Road Creamery is the first milk producer to separate out pure organic Jersey milk, a product it sources from dedicated Jersey herds. It interferes as little as possible during the journey from the milk shed into the bottle to deliver a more pure final product.

This means, that unlike most other mainstream milks, Lewis Road Creamery Organic Jersey Milk is permeate-free.

“New Zealand lags behind other countries with the mainstream supply of permeate-free milk,” says Peter. “In other markets, there’s been real resistance to the addition of this watery, green-coloured by-product of the milk production process. We don’t see any reason why it should be in our milk.

“As a result, our permeate-free milk is much creamier with a taste that is as close as possible to how it is at the farm-gate. And with the current trend towards more whole and natural foods, we believe we are giving Kiwi consumers what they want and deserve,” he says.

In addition to being permeate-free, Lewis Road Creamery’s new milk is sourced from cows who are not fed palm kernel expeller (PKE) - a by-product of the controversial production of palm oil. PKE is often used as a supplementary feed by dairy farmers in New Zealand when pasture is limited.

“Our Jersey cows are raised on natural green pastures, meaning our product is more pure and natural – just the way a New Zealand milk should be.”

As well as a great taste from its higher butterfat content, Jersey milk also contains less water, less lactose, higher levels of beta-casein, more protein and higher levels of calcium than the more common Friesen cows.

Lewis Road Creamery Organic Jersey Milk comes in four varieties - Non-Homogenised, Homogenised, Light and Calcium Enriched~Low Fat. In a back-to-the-future design, the milks come in traditionally shaped, 100 percent recyclable milk bottles, with the benefit of allowing you to see what you are drinking and how much is left in the bottle.

In addition to its new range of premium milks, Lewis Road Creamery is also launching Organic Jersey Cream and Organic Jersey Double Cream, made from 100 percent Jersey cream.

“We are very excited to be bringing a more authentic cream, and in particular a double cream, to New Zealanders,” says Peter.

“Our Organic Jersey Double Cream is the real deal. There’s no use of gelatin or other thickeners as used by producers of other thickened creams. Ours is 100 percent cream with a higher than average 48 percent butterfat content, pure and simple.”

Lewis Road Creamery Organic Jersey Double Cream is ideal for cooking as it can stand being boiled without separating and is perfect poured straight from the bottle. It’s ideal for desserts, sauces, home-made ice-cream and soup garnishes.

The launch of Lewis Road Creamery’s ranges of premium milks and creams follows the successful launch of the brand’s award-winning Premium Butter in August last year and Artisan Butter earlier this year.

“We are on a mission to shake up the dairy aisle and deliver produce that taste like dairy produce used to – and should – taste,” says Peter. “We said it with butter and we’ll repeat it with milk. Why shouldn’t New Zealanders have the best dairy products in the world? It only seems right.”

Lewis Road Creamery Organic Jersey Milk (750ml, RRP $3.19), Organic Jersey Cream (300ml, RRP $3.99) and Organic Jersey Double Cream (300ml, RRP $4.49) are available at leading supermarkets throughout Auckland, with wider distribution to follow in coming months.

For a full list of stockists visit lewisroadcreamery.co.nz

ENDS

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