Financed through personal and family resources, The Village Dairy is a David and Goliath-like success story.
Based in Clonmore, Killeshin, on the Laois/Carlow border, it has taken on the big players and what many see as a ‘race to the bottom’ in milk production, finding favour for its minimal processing.
Founder and MD Noel Barcoe from Carlow, worked as an agent for Glanbia for many years and was also the founder of Dairyland Cuisine. From the time he was a child, he had a dream of getting into the milk production business. That vision was realised when he established The Village Dairy in 2015.
Employing 15 people, it supplies conventional and organic milk as well as goats’ milk and Jersey milk to supermarkets and shops around the country. “Dublin is by far our biggest market,” said Kenny Hurley, Plant and Production Manager and Barcoe’s cousin.
“We also supply hotels, restaurants, cafes and other businesses such as Gino’s Gelato. We have become known for the quality and taste of our milk.
People have forgotten what milk should taste like. We get a lot of feedback from people who are 50-plus who remember the cream that was on the top of the glass bottle, said Hurley.
“A niche market is our Jersey milk which appeals to people for its flavour. Baristas like it for its flavour and retirement homes buy it for its high protein content,” he said. “At the moment, we are buying from about 12 farmers, mostly in the local area. Our Jersey milk comes from Woodstown Abbott in Kildalkey, Co. Meath, which has the oldest Jersey herd in the country.”
Operating in a highly competitive market, The Village Dairy ploughs its own furrow. “We don’t sell cheap milk. We’re not able to compete there. We also don’t compete on shelf life. Milk isn’t supposed to last for 15 or 16 days. Ours lasts for ten to 12 days generally. Within 24 hours of milking, our products are on the shelves.
“We believe that our milk, which won a Blas na hEireann award for 2016, is of premium quality. It’s fresher and healthier. We try to interfere with it as little as possible, and to keep it in its natural state. Baristas also love our milk because it froths so well and the proteins are a lot less damaged than in other milk,” Hurley said.
“What we do is not mass production; it’s craft milk,” he said. “We are so small that we can’t afford to advertise. We rely on word of mouth,” said Hurley. “Farmers locally now have another option and we pay a bit more for our milk. We always try to stay a cent or two ahead of our competitors.”
So how does it promote to an increasingly cost-conscious consumer, faced with discounted offerings? “The answer is we don’t promote to them, but word of mouth does get around. Also, we put our organic and Jersey milk in a PET plastic bottle which is a little more traditional and gets attention on the shelf,” said Hurley.
The supplier farmers enjoy a close relationship with management, he said. “If there’s ever any issue in relationship to the milk, we just lift the phone, and they come in and have a cup of tea with us.
Dairy farmers are after getting the hard end of the stick. It’s more of a friendship than solely business. If we are lucky enough to grow, we will try to maintain that relationship.
“We have a minimal contract. We have no interest in tying farmers into contracts if they don’t want to stay with us.”