Australian organic infant milk brand Bellamy’s has signed three new deals with local dairies to secure the supply of organic milk for its own growth programme.
The first of the three deals is with its manufacturing partner Fonterra, the New Zealand-headquartered milk cooperative. In what is being reported locally as a AUD 5.5 million investment, the partnership with Fonterra’s operation in Tasmania, is aimed at developing a pool of organic milk in the state and providing dairy farmers with financial assistance to convert to organic. The deal will see Bellamy’s take the first 20 million litres of milk from the organic milk pool a year.
A second deal will see Bellamy’s source organic milk from an affiliate of Australian Consolidated Milk. The third contract is with a second business that manufactures for Bellamy’s, the Australian group Tatura Milk Industries. The deal will see an organic component added to their existing arrangements.
Bellamy’s CEO, Andrew Cohen, told Australian media: “We believe the rising demand for our brand and high quality, premium organic infant formula in Australia, China and emerging Asia can become an important and value-added platform for Australian farmers.”
Bellamy’s, which was established in 2003 by David Bellamy in northern Tasmania, was a relatively early entrant into Australia’s organic food market. Today it is one of the country’s best known organic brands, with reported sales of AUD 240.2 million (2017). Exports form an increasingly important part of the business, with China being a major customer of its ‘super premium’ positioned organic infant milk products.