Bottling bid aims to keep (some) NZ milk cheap

Clinton Beuvink of Nosh Food Market. Photo / Supplied

A boutique grocery has called for help to bottle its own milk in a bid to keep prices at $1 a litre.

Last month Nosh Food Market cut the price of milk to $2 for two litres in what it said was a protest against steep industry mark-ups.

The discount was extended to the end of this month but the grocer is now looking for ways to reduce the loss "well in excess of 50c" on each bottle it sells.

"There are only a few processors of milk. It is an area where I would like to see more competition to ensure consumers are getting a good deal," Nosh director Clinton Beuvink said.

Nosh's milk is processed and bottled by Goodman Fielder, which with Fonterra is the biggest bottler of milk, he said.

"New bottlers find it hard; they might know how to process and bottle the milk but they don't know how to get it sold to the consumer.

"I'm the missing link in a large part of that puzzle. So I'm happy to work with someone ... we sell millions of litres of milk a year - and this year we'll sell a lot more."

Nosh was a retailer and it made more financial sense for an existing bottler in the greater Auckland area to adapt by adding a pasteurising unit, he said.

The grocery chain reckons that could be done for about $2 million.

Nosh and its retail partners are talking to two interested bottlers.

Those interested in helping with the bottling venture should email contact@noshfoodmarket.com.