While the company has seen its products on the shelves of small independents such as IGA in a few locations, the deal with Aldi is its first with a national, let alone international, supermarket chain.
Director Wayne Mulcahy said the company had not actively sought to work with supermarkets on a large scale before.
He said they were approached by Aldi and the proposal was one they could work with.
“Aldi has two major distribution centres for Victoria – one at Derrimut covers the west of the state and Dandenong the east,” Wayne said.
“We will be supplying the Derrimut centre so our milk, under the Farmdale brand, will be on a lot of Victorian supermarket shelves,” he said.
“A lot of effort goes into satisfying Aldi’s requirements and making this happen so it was nice to get a result.
“It’s also great news for the whole company and it means we can hire 15 new staff.”
Kyvalley now employs 150 people across its farms, factories and in Geelong.
Wayne said he was feeling positive about the company’s future and he said between their own production and their growing network of suppliers they hoped to process about 70 million litres this year.
He said that would be an all-time high but with the way the business is going each year they have been hitting record levels.
“We’ve got a bright future ahead. We’ve seen significant growth in the past five years and have taken advantage of some great opportunities,” he said.
“It seems to work when you are actually helping customers and suppliers; making sure everyone is looked after,” he added.
Kyvalley’s commitment to a fairer industry was highlighted when it announced a drought assistance package late last year, which saw an immediate increase of prices for milk suppliers in the Kyabram region to help offset climatic conditions.
The Kyvalley Dairy Group, which owns Kyvalley Farms and Kiewa Country Milk, is the leading Australian family-owned fresh milk business.
In October last year the company’s chief executive, Alastair McCredden, said the announcement recognised the seriousness of the prolonged drought that was affecting farmers across the country.
“The prolonged drier than normal conditions, high temporary water prices, increased costs of fodder and lack of availability of quality feed have led to a tough year for their milk suppliers,’’ he said.
While the exact farmgate price change cannot be disclosed, as KDG is not a listed company, director Wayne Mulcahy said the package represented a “significant” increase.
“It’s not tokenistic – it’s a reasonable amount that makes a difference and it’s not just a once-off, it will continue every month until the end of next season.
“At the end of the day we are committed to supporting our local communities and we think it’s right for us to step in and assist.
“We’re confident by making this bonus payment, it will likely enable the suppliers to change their planning decisions… and the planning decisions we’re looking for are the ones where they maintain their milk supply.”
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