Would you pay $2.25 a litre for milk at a supermarket? Would knowing that the milk was sourced solely from Central Queensland dairy farms influence your answer? And that all the farms are family owned, some for more than 100 years. Well 21 dairy farms across CQ are hoping people will buy it, having formed a co-operative called CQ United Dairies. Their products are being stocked at a number of local Woolworths supermarkets.
It is amazing how the wheel turns, being small is becoming beautiful again, well maybe that is how the CQ United Dairies milk buyers are perceiving this move, but for these 21 farmers it is more about survival.
In 1904 a local dairy farmers co-operative called Port Curtis Diary, or PCD, was formed, headquartered in Gladstone. At its peak it was one of the largest dairy co-operatives in the state. It eventually was sold in 1994 to Paul’s Ltd. which was later bought by Italian giant Parmalat.
Now the wheel appears to have done a full circle as a new co-operative starts its journey. A much different journey than PCD’s more monopolistic one though; that will rely on parochialism, delivering a superior product and an effective ‘story driven’ marketing campaign to compete against the cheaper alternatives. Hopefully they will succeed, not just in order for them to continue on as dairy farmers, but to prove there is a parochial, viable segment of the market in CQ, one that is growing – the ‘small is beautiful’ buyers.
A Jason O’Loughlin, a butcher from Emerald, is also hoping that this is the case as he progresses with his plans to open a boutique supermarket and smokehouse stocking CQ products. However, he doesn’t just see his customers as being parochial locals, he is planning for nationwide distribution.
While these small businesses are tapping into this growing ‘small is beautiful’ customer base they need to be conscious that parochialism alone will not ensure their success. These customers, like most others, are still time poor and while price may not be the major factor in their buying decisions, convenience will be, as will the quality of their offer and knowing something of their story.
Just look at the boutique beer market for example, being considered a boutique beer is no longer enough to be a success, if it ever was. As the market gets more cluttered with product and it becomes harder to determine what is an authentic boutique beer or that just looks like one but owned by a multi-national; reputation, availability and knowing some of the story of the brewer will become more important in the financial success of the beer.
Locally owned Capricorn Coast businesses are lifting their game as about 60 of them so far have joined to offer Keppel Cash gift cards. A gift card you can use at any participating business on the coast, providing great convenience for the time poor birthday and Christmas gift buyer who wants to see their money stay and circulate locally. An initiative driven by the Yeppoon and Emu Park Community Bank® branches of the Bendigo Bank. Bank branches set up and overseen by locals, reinvesting 80% of their profits back into the community.
Next time you’re shopping, consider the big picture of what really is a bargain; the one on an international web site with the cheapest price/lowest repayments that just swaps a product for your money, or possibly a higher priced option that is still convenient to buy, perhaps is of better quality, and is produced by a business that is part of and reinvests back into your local community. Small is beautiful, and a long-term bargain buy in our community’s future.