Dairy’s new lactose-free milk packaged in orange cartons
GUERNSEY DAIRY is gearing up to launch its new lactose-free milk.
The milk will come from the same cows across 13 local farms and be treated in the same way as the low fat milk in the blue carton, but will have an enzyme added to it to remove the lactose. It will be sold in an orange carton.
Managing director Andrew Tabel said customers have been asking for a lactose-free option and it was an area the dairy had always wanted to tap into.
Now the timing is right, and the facilities on-site are well-equipped to facilitate the product.
Blue milk is the most popular of the range, with 100,000 litres produced in a normal week, so it made sense to mirror the same constituents with the lactose-free version.
‘Our standard milk has about 5.4% lactose in it,’ said Mr Tabel.
‘We say that the lactose-free milk has 0.03%, although it has been sent to a UK-based lab for testing and they did not find any traces of lactose in it.
‘This will not only be great for people who suffer with lactose intolerance, buying it will continue to support our local economy and help in conserving our unique rural environment designed to maintain Guernsey’s traditional countryside while enhancing biodiversity.’
When it is launched, 3,000 cartons will be produced a week, but the dairy is able to increase the number if the demand is there.
There is no fixed retail price for milk in Guernsey, it is a free market.
However, Mr Tabel anticipated, that because of the added due diligence needed to keep the lactose-free milk away from organic milk, it might cost a ‘couple of pence’ more.
Explaining the thinking behind the orange carton, Mr Tabel said that most milk deliveries are completed very early in the morning while it is still dark, so it was important that it was easily distinguishable from the other cartons.
‘We wanted to be mindful to people who are colour blind, while also ensuring it was a colour that would suit our signature gingham pattern and would show up nicely on the natural substrate cardboard material.’
n The lactose-free milk is due to launch in the middle of the month.
