A raw milk revolution is bubbling up in Bell Block. Touted as being a “powerhouse food”, raw cow’s milk keeps many vitamins, enzymes and probiotics often considered lost in the processing plant. We caught up with one of the owners of Dolly’s Milk , Kevin Death. Hunting for something new, the group stumbled across the idea while flicking through a magazine. And as they researched the rules and ways to safely distribute the product, they knew they had to get out in front of this fledgling industry. Farmers can sell raw milk from their gate as long as they are certified, consumers are told the milk is unpasteurised and sales are limited to five litres. But at Dolly’s Milk, they wanted to go one step further. So they set about building facilities in Bell Block and Stratford that would be clean, green and customer-focused. “We send samples to a lab in Auckland every week and test every day.” This way they offered convenient, hygienic raw milk, he said. In Bell Block, customers from all around the world were lining up to get their fill at $2.40 a litre. “Every week there is a step up in the quantity we are selling, Advertising has only been through word of mouth so far. The facility itself was its own drawcard, offering customers a chance to see the milking shed and offering a quick 24/7 service. Members of the Raw Milk Producers’ Association of New Zealand, they believed they had cornered the market in Taranaki.
