A new co-operative and premium milk brand has this week been launched in the UK under the Free Range 180 banner by Northumberland dairy farmer Peter Crawford. Free Range 180 has been launched as part of an initiative to help British dairy farmers receive a better price for their milk and will be paid 3p to 4p per litre above their current pricing.
Participating farmers will receive a premium milk price; for a premium milk product; and this will equate to an additional £30,000 – £40,000 per annum (Canadian $58,000 – $77,000) for every 1million litres sold. The cooperative concept is based upon members grazing their cows outside at grass for a period of six months or, 180 days.
Free Range 180 will be offered across three sections of whole milk, semi-skimmed and skimmed varieties with the brand being processed by County Durham-based, Lanchester Dairies explains Mr Crawford.
“Consumers are very conscious as to how farm animals are maintained and where and how milk is produced. They want to know animals lead a healthy and comfortable life and are able to graze freely in a natural environment. Our aims are to ‘connect’ with consumers and establish a premium milk brand that members of the public ‘trust’ on numerous levels.
Free Range 180 was unveiled in September in a series of closed meetings with Lanchester suppliers; milk retailers and invited interested parties. The feed-back questionnaire received a 95% – 100% positive response across a range of concept, brand identity and marketing related questions.
Graeme Bradley, who farms at Quebec, County Durham, is one of the suppliers eager to provide milk for the Free Range 180 initiative. He said: “We milk 150 Holstein cows and the herd grazes outdoors for six months of the year. Like others, we cut and conserve our summer grass to feed over the inclement winter months, when the cows are housed.
“If farmers are able to receive a premium milk price; for a premium milk product; this can equate to an additional £30 – £40,000 per annum for every 1million litres sold. I already supply Lanchester Dairies, which is literally on the door-step, and have confidence in knowing that the aims of Free Range 180 will connect with everyone involved from the farmer to the consumer. It’s a ‘win-win’ situation.”
The company hired PR marketing professional and dairy industry expert Bruce Jobson to create the brand name, concept, overall design and the unique Free Range 180 logo. Mr Crawford said: “We wanted something completely different in terms of marketing and design; in order to differentiate our product.
“I did not want to go down the traditional lines associated with marketing milk products and gave the Bruce a clean-sheet to create a brand-name, brand-colouring and unique logo. No one else to my knowledge has ever marketed milk as a ‘number’ and the logo reflects the brand ethos.”
Bruce Jobson won numerous Holstein UK Society awards and shows with the family’s renowned pedigree Holstein herd. Bruce also created iconic marketing campaigns whilst working as a consultant with Semex UK including global concepts such as “The Semex Cow,” as well as “Seeing is Believing” and “It’s all in the Genes.”
An award winning professional, Bruce also launched the marketing concepts of World Wide Sires UK for its former Pontypool-based distributors as well as, the launching and creating the marketing concepts and logo of Quebec-based TAG (Trans America Genetics) now TAG by ST.
