Delamere Dairy signs Australian distribution deal
The dairy has signed a distribution deal for its goat's butter, which is now available in Australian national supermarket chain IGA, as well as three regional chains and independent retailers.
The business struck a deal for its goat’s butter with an Australian distributor after being introduced at a trade show in San Francisco, which it attended with support from International Trade Advisers (ITAs) as part of the Food is GREAT campaign, run by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for International Trade (DIT).
Delamere Dairy has already sent one shipment to Australia, with another on the way, and said it expected to see the value of its Australian sales reach six-figures by the end of 2019. The business currently exports to 25 countries, including the US and the Middle East.
Recent HMRC figures have shown that the UK exported more than £12.8m of dairy products to Australia last year alone, while according to market research company Arizton, global revenue from goat’s milk products were predicted to total $15bn (£11.2bn) by 2024, with Asia-Pacific the fastest-growing region
Jonathan Cope, export director at Delamere Dairy, said: “This new exporting opportunity has extended our international reach, and we’re expecting Australian sales to become a significant revenue stream for the business.
“Even though Australia has its own goat’s milk industry, we carried out analysis of the product range in major retailers via shopping websites, and it became quickly apparent there was a gap in the market for us. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the health benefits associated with our goat’s milk products, demonstrated in the overseas demand we are seeing.”
He said having the right distributor was key to cracking the market.
“To make it work we had to find the right distributor, which can sometimes take us up to 18 months and cost a significant amount of time and money,” said Cope. “Thanks to support from our ITA, we were able to quickly find and secure an Australian partner, and we’re now stocked in stores across the country.
“Exports are an important part of our business and, because of this, we’ve had a good working relationship with DIT for a while now. The team has been great at helping us answer any queries we’ve had, and I’d recommend that others looking to export make the most of its support. If we can find export success, then many others can too.”
