Regular visitors to BigBarn may have noticed a few new additions to the map of their area recently, one of which is likely to be a Dairy Crest milk delivery depot. So we thought it would be a good time to tell you a bit more about Dairy Crest, and why we’re working with them.

For many years now, supermarkets have been eating into the market share of milk-delivery companies like Dairy Crest, and, in doing so, threatening the great tradition of the British milkman himself. Many of you may instinctively be slow to shed a tear at the idea of another big business struggling, but we’ve been working with Dairy Crest for some time now, and believe in what they’re trying to do with their business. We also believe that the demise of the milkman would be a real loss to society.

With so many traditional services now already lost, the gentle chinking of milk bottles, the quiet whir of milk floats and handwritten notes from old ladies to milkmen may seem like little more than a quaint reminder of times gone by. Think again. Milk delivered in re-useable glass bottles? Electric delivery vans? A daily home-delivery in time for breakfast? Regular, personal contact between customer and supplier? Sounds like the stuff of dreams for many a slick, eco-aware modern organisation!

In fact, those chinking milk bottles are being re-used an average of twenty times and the regular, personal contact with their milkman is something on which many people depend. We’ve spent a lot of time talking with senior management at Dairy Crest, and the environmental and community aspects of their business are something that they appear to be taking very seriously.

BigBarn is, first and foremost, a champion of the small producer, but we can’t turn a blind eye to the power that larger companies, like Dairy Crest, have. And where we can help them to improve their business practices and use that power wisely, we’re very happy to do so. The fact that they’re talking to us, regularly, to learn from our experience and understand more about the changing demands of customers, is a good sign in itself. They’d be the first to admit that there’s a long way to go, but we’re looking forward to supporting them in that process.