Our family have been buying meadow fresh 2L from the supermarkets all the time. I have started looking into cheap milk alternatives due to the current inflation. $3 for 2L seems to be a decent price. https://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/p/cow-gate-blue-standard-milk…
I used to hear that the NZ milk, no matter what the brand is, is all from the same supplier. So basically the quality is the same. Can someone in the industry please verify this?
It's basically the same. Fonterra sites just put it in different shaped bottles and brand names.
Source: My better half works at one of said sites.
We consume 1.5 bottles of 2L milk per week on average. That's $2.5 difference per bottle and $195 saving for a year. Wish I have looked into this earlier.
The article says 82% of milk is collected by Fonterra so I guess its a case of finding a brand outside of that supply chain that truly offers a "premium" product - single source, traceability, organic, whatever floats your boat etc
Whilst it is not strictly true to say that it, '… is all from the same supplier', the differences are pretty much non-existent (on a like-for-like product).
This is another example of people being fooled by marketing, rather than just using common sense - milk is a commodity product.
You could easily imagine finding greater variation through a yearly-cycle, than between suppliers, but that's just a guess.
Alan.
I've been wondering the same question for some while, although slightly different. I know that there is pretty much no difference between normal milk (especially if it is sourced from fonterra) since all the cows in new zealand are pretty much what you see when you go on a road trip.
But what I have been wondering is my household has been buying organic milk for a while now, certainly it is a different milk right?
My biggest fear is all milk is organic and they could label all the milk bottles as organic, but they choose to charge a premium from those who can pay for it and it comes from the exact same tanker as the normal milk.
If this were true, I feel like it should cause an uproar, would be a literal scam. Anyone in the industry able to clarify or have you all signed NDA's
That's what is called 'marketing' ;-)
Almost nobody who is persuaded by marketing ever causes an uproar, they normally do the opposite, and try to convince everyone else to swap to their choice of product, since they are either a fool, or an enlightened pioneer, and almost no-one is a fool - just ask people you meet!
Don't be so quick to talk out of your arse unless you actually know it is the same.
Found one!
The only difference in some that I know of is some uses permeate… it's worth reading up on, however I am one of the consumers who doesn't care at all but I know some that do.
It's nothing scary :)
I don’t know what it is but personally i have taste and smell issues with certain milk brands (dairy dale, cow gate etc) vs regular Anchor milk. No one in my family have issues with either brand. I on the other hand feel like puking at the smell and taste as soon as i sip non- Anchor milk. I don’t have lactose or milk allergy afaik. I can tell which milk is Anchor and which is not by smelling it before drinking. That’s all the difference i find, and i know it’s so weird. Does anyone else have such experiences?
Anchor is a Fonterra brand packaged milk and….
“Budget brand Dairy Dale is a Fonterra brand and Select, Cow & Gate and Signature Range are Goodman Fielder brands made using Fonterra-supplied milk”
It’s all the same milk, your mind is playing marketing tricks on you
I used to work at Fonterra as a sensory panelist. Your mind is not playing tricks on you. Milk tastes different exposed to light hence that's why anchor uses the fancy bottles that light doesn't penetrate. We did a study one week where we tasted over 40 samples of milk bought from different shops and supermarkets around town. The differences in taste was huge and it all comes down to storage. I personally buy countdown brand milk and have no issues. Your taste buds can be 'trained' to pick up certain flavors etc.
For me its just not the taste but also the smell which makes me nauseous. I drink almost 2 glass everyday, so no can't stand dairy dale or cow gate. And I am not willing to 'train' myself for nothing and feel sick for god knows how long (not sure if that will work).
I agree on storage part. It also depends on how it is stored in home as well. Milk sits on fridge door which gets opened endless times resulting in hot-cold treatment on the bottle which can affect the taste as well.
I agree with you. I thought I was the only one. My family is fine with any brand.
Unlike you though I am fine with countdown or value brand milk. Just no dairy dale or cow gate.
Gotta add my 2¢ worth: if you are big milk drinkers, most Indian supermarkets like Arjun and the like (in Auckland at least), sell 2x 2L bottles for $5.50. Usually a long BB date and carry full cream milk (grey sticker) as well as regular blue top. I'm an ex-tasting panel member (supertaster) and cannot discern the difference between Anchor and this other brand on a blindfolded trial. Agree though that the Countdown branded milk has an odd taste.
The Indian supermarket I go to is doing 2x 2L bottles for $6.50 now, more expensive than TWH.
We switched to milk powder after our kids left home and our milk consumption dropped down to next to nothing. We use milk mainly for hot drinks, baking/cooking and the occasional milkshake or smoothie, and milk powder is fine. I don't think I'd use it if I was just drinking the milk by itself, but add another flavor into it and it tastes just like any other milk to me. The only thing is you need to mix it a good 30-45 minutes ahead of time if you're using it for shakes/smoothies or else they can taste a bit watery. For hot drinks I just add in a teaspoon like I would coffee whitener. I think the last bag we bought cost less than $10 and made 8 liters, so it's good value. Obviously it's not for everyone but if you're like us and would be constantly throwing out half empty bottles of milk that had gone bad it's worth a try.
Milking it: 'Micro differences' between brands. Why are some customers happy to pay a premium?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/dairy/106050501/mic…