Aussie Farmers Direct Invests In Private Milk Company
June 8th, 2010Three years ago PWF wrote about two young Melbourne entrepreneurs taking on the supermarket duopoly. As Aussie Farmers Direct they won 6500 customers in 12 months and set up a network of ‘franchised milkmen’.
The milk in Australia is predominantly supplied by Japanese-owned National Foods, New Zealand dairy company Fonterra, and Italy’s Parmalat.
Fighting back
Now, in 2010 Aussie Farmers Direct is fighting back against foreign-owned dairy companies investing $5.45 million in an Australian owned dairy processing company, which will give domestic dairy farmers a greater choice of buyers.
The milk will be distributed by the company’s franchisees starting in Victoria and will eventually be distributed throughout Australia.
Braedon Lord of Aussie Farmers Direct says
“In excess of 90% of the fresh milk consumed in Australia is supplied by foreign companies..
The main emphasis behind the project is to ensure our customers receive Australian owned, farmed and manufactured milk from now on..
The company is creating a new dairy processing and bottling plant and will redevelop an old Bonlac factory in Camperdown, south-west Victoria. It will eventually produce 100,000 litres of Aussie Farmers Direct branded milk..
It’s about securing supply but also about getting closer to the dairy farmer and developing that relationship with them as we grow our customer base across Australia..
At the heart of the company’s core values is connecting the farming community to Australian households and creating and fostering rewards and opportunities for everyone..”
Funding This Move
Helping fund this move is a $700,000 grant under the Brumby Government’s Regional Investment Initiative ($350,000) and Community Regional Industry Skills Program ($350,000) through Regional Development Victoria.
Impressive and local.
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June 8th, 2010 at 6:53 pm
About time someone stood up for Australia, go for it Aussie Farmers Direct, show the foriegners and our Government how things should be operating in this country. I believe our Government is not protecting Australians as they are obligated to do under our constitution, especially from financial pilage.
Our money is going over seas in many ways, including the foriegn onwership of essentual services. I believe this is unconstitutional along with many other Gov. regulations like the GST.
July 20th, 2010 at 8:31 am
I think the people of south west victoria should be very careful and keep a close eye on aussie farmers direct. For a company that attempts to ooze ‘aussiness’ their efforts at the new distribution centre in tottenham are scandalous.
Unwilling to give any of its picking staff a permanent job, Aussie Farmers have a warehouse full of vietnamese workers who are employed through a ‘third party’ contractor. This method means aussie farmers have no responsibility to ensure minimum wages and conditions are being met as they can simply blame the contractor.
These people have a right to the security of a permanent job, the government should not be distributing money to companies so they can use and abuse workers under the guise of ‘its not our problem – we contracted it out’
Watch out camperdown – spineless companies do spineless things – regardless of which part of town they are in !
August 10th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
I think that the dairy farmers also have a right to a permanent job some cases the farmer is paying to milk for the foreign owned companies, as almost all the market is foreign owned even Australian dairies are being sold. Soon Australia will be foreign owned. Best wishes to any Australian company!!!
October 31st, 2010 at 9:46 am
Andrew,
Would you care to clarify how it is your “friend” knows so much about these vietnamese workers conditions?
Does anyone else get a sense that Andrew is possibly a competitor of Aussie Farmers and is maybe attempting (in vain) to discredit them?
Personally I don’t know anything about who they employ, I do however support them as I think it’s disgraceful that 85% of the profit from the average shopping trolley in the large supermarkets. Goes to offshore companies. Furthermore Andrew, do you honestly expect us to believe that every large company out there only employs “Australians”? Have you ever even worked in a factory? Have you eve done any sort of menial job? I know my company employs large numbers of immigrants as no Australian will work the hours and most young Australians that come along expect the world handed to them on a silver platter.
D