Page 14 - Food & Drink Magazine October 2019

✷ RISING STAR
cocdoecdoedceodcehcehcckehcekcchkecakcpatucprateupcrtaeucpraetucreraecr2ea4r2xce47a2xre47x274x7
1300 263 464
www.matthews.com.au
next twelve months. The UK has always been on the cards for us, it was just a matter of finding the right person at the other end with a network set up or a cold chain that can handle the product. Setting up from scratch can be a really expensive ordeal.”
MILKING TOURISM
The business’s first product was camel milk in a one-litre bottle. In 2015, it began making
handmade soaps, followed by the skincare range in 2017.
After “quite a while” of having people “popping in at all different times of the day asking to have a quick look at the farm or take a photo of a camel”, the company expanded into farm tourism.
As Williams says: “Northern Victoria is the least likely place you think you’re going to find a camel.”
They now have a number of third and fourth-year veterinarian students doing placements with them as well.
Williams says they saw the potential for an on-farm shop, and it’s proven a popular outlet for people to try and buy the entire spread of products.
PRODUCT INNOVATION
In a collaboration with The Ministry of Chocolate, The Camel Milk Co. Australia
has also brought out a camel- milk chocolate.
“It’s limited in that we only do batches when orders come in because the product only has a three-month shelf life.”
The business is looking to do another collaboration with The Ministry of Chocolate for Christmas, or maybe camel- shaped chocolates.
“They’re a family business, and what they do is amazing.
“It’s always interesting: when looking for people to collaborate with on products – such as our feta and these chocolates – ‘yes’ isn’t always the first response.
“Working with our Ballarat cheese company and The Ministry of Chocolate has been a terrific bonus.”
Williams says they have some exciting new products in the pipeline, hopefully to be released by Christmas.
“But we don’t just want to bring another product on the market for the sake of it. We’re always making sure that every single time we bring something out, it’s quality.”
PAYING IT FORWARD
One company Williams is particularly grateful to for having been so open with advice is Kyvalley Dairy Group.
Owned and run by fifth- generation dairy farming brothers – Peter, David and Wayne Mulcahy – Kyvalley Dairy has become one of Australia’s largest-family owned dairy operations. It exports fresh milk products throughout the Asia Pacific.
“They’ve been a huge help in letting us know who they use for
labelling, bottling, sharing freight to reduce costs, a whole of things.
“They didn’t have to give us that helping hand, but they’ve been so receptive to a completely foreign product that they don’t see as competition.”
It is something Williams is conscious to do herself for others.
“I’m a farmer; I had no background in processing, sales or marketing, so when we first started I didn’t even know where to get a one litre bottle from.
“A number of people have called me over the years and asked: ‘I’m thinking about doing this, where do I get that?’
“So I tell them, we get pouches from here, bottles from there, pasteurisers from Barry Brown & Sons.
“I try to pay that help forward – even if someone asks me for an assessment of whether they should enter a particular market.”
It has seen Williams think about consulting to start-up businesses in the future, but for now her entire focus is on The Camel Milk Co. Australia.
“The sky’s the limit, but we need to move forward at a pace that suits myself and Chris as a family, because for so long it was not.
“We need to make sure that as business owners we are okay, and working more on the business rather than in it as much as we have been.
“And of course, we would like to continue growing both our export and Australian markets, educating people about camel milk as a dairy alternative.” ✷
14 | Food&Drink business | October 2019 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au