In a coup for dairy lovers and dairy farmers, milk from Fleurieu Peninsula business Fleurieu Milk is now available at Woolworths and X Convenience stores.

As with many businesses, Myponga-based Fleurieu Milk Company experienced a big hit during the Covid-19 crisis, with 300 of their customers forced to close their doors. 

According to a statement on their website, cafes, restaurants and pubs account for about 50 per cent of Fleurieu Milk Company’s total sales. And without these customers buying milk amid the government’s Covid restrictions, the company was left with a huge excess of milk, and jobs and livelihoods hanging in the balance. 

“At the drop of a hat, we had an abundance of excess milk we no longer required as well as a team of production and distribution employees with a significant downturn in work,” says Fleurieu Milk Company General Manager Nick Hutchinson.

Fortunately, two new retail partnerships came along at the perfect time.

Since Monday 25 May, Fleurieu Milk white and flavoured milk is being stocked at 34 selected Woolworths locations across the state. It has also been available from every X Convenience store in South Australia since Monday 30 March. In total, there are 60 new outlets stocking Fleurieu Milk.

“Although we’ve had many discussions with Woolworths over the years, this time was different,” says Nick.

“Woolworths approached us with the opportunity to ensure we could keep our team employed and avoid the risk of losing any of our supplying farmers”.

The company is grateful to South Australians for their support.

“It’s the public, the everyday consumers that decide to buy a local product like Fleurieu Milk in the store that has kept us alive during this period,” says Nick.

Fleurieu Milk Company was founded by a group of Myponga dairy farmers in 2004, in response to plummeting farmgate milk prices. As well as selling various milk and flavoured milk products, the company now produces yoghurt and cream.