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Grow my dairy business

Where are you now?

Eight stages a dairy business passes through on the way from a first customer to investment. Pick the one that sounds like you. Each shows what to work through next, what to read, which expertise to look for and where the relevant rooms are. GROW consultancy appears only where it genuinely fits.

Stage

Starting out

You have a product and a first customer or two.

Work through

  1. Registration, food safety and labelling basics before the first sale beyond friends
  2. A recipe you can repeat, and a way of proving it
  3. A price that covers true cost, including your time
  4. The one thing about the product a stranger would repeat

Read first

Expertise to look for

The room

Dairy Forum Ireland in Cork runs over two days; Dairy Forum London is an evening. Both put producers, buyers and suppliers in one room. Plan who you should meet before you travel.

Stage

Selling locally

Markets, farm shops, a few delis. Demand is real but small.

Work through

  1. Which local channels actually pay, and which are marketing
  2. Shelf life and packaging that survive a week on someone else's shelf
  3. A simple story and consistent look across every point of sale
  4. Cash: what growth would consume before it returns

Read first

Expertise to look for

Recognition

Independent awards give a buyer a reason to taste. We promote and take part in the International Cheese & Dairy Awards (ICDA), but we do not run them: our coverage of recognition and awards.

The room

Dairy Forum Ireland in Cork runs over two days; Dairy Forum London is an evening. Both put producers, buyers and suppliers in one room. Plan who you should meet before you travel.

Stage

Ready for wholesale

Distributors or wholesalers are asking. You are not sure you can service them.

Work through

  1. Capacity and consistency at the volume a wholesaler expects
  2. Trade pricing, margin and payment terms that still leave you a business
  3. Case sizes, barcodes, specifications and a technical file
  4. Who does the selling once the product leaves your hands

Read first

Expertise to look for

Recognition

Independent awards give a buyer a reason to taste. We promote and take part in the International Cheese & Dairy Awards (ICDA), but we do not run them: our coverage of recognition and awards.

GROW, if you want joined-up help

Relevant capabilities: Market readiness. How GROW works. It starts with a fact-finding workshop, and if GROW is not the right answer we say so.

The room

Dairy Forum Ireland in Cork runs over two days; Dairy Forum London is an evening. Both put producers, buyers and suppliers in one room. Plan who you should meet before you travel.

Stage

Trying to win retail

You want a listing. The buyer is interested, or you need them to be.

Work through

  1. Buyer requirements: what the retailer will ask for before it asks about taste
  2. Retail readiness: specification, traceability, accreditation and audit
  3. A commercial case the category manager can defend
  4. Packaging that works on their shelf, not just at the counter
  5. Compliance: claims, labelling and allergens as the retailer reads them
  6. Production capacity for the volume a listing implies, including promotions
  7. Awards a buyer actually recognises, and how to use them
  8. Access to the buyer, and what to say in twenty minutes

Read first

Expertise to look for

Recognition

Independent awards give a buyer a reason to taste. We promote and take part in the International Cheese & Dairy Awards (ICDA), but we do not run them: our coverage of recognition and awards.

GROW, if you want joined-up help

Relevant capabilities: Market readiness, Retail listing consultancy, Compliance and technical readiness, Brand and proposition. How GROW works. It starts with a fact-finding workshop, and if GROW is not the right answer we say so.

The room

Dairy Forum Ireland in Cork runs over two days; Dairy Forum London is an evening. Both put producers, buyers and suppliers in one room. Plan who you should meet before you travel.

Stage

Already in retail

You are listed. Now you have to hold the space and make it pay.

Work through

  1. Rate of sale, promotions and the true margin after retailer terms
  2. Service levels and what a missed delivery costs you
  3. Range extension versus depth on the lines that sell
  4. The next channel: foodservice, export, or a second retailer

Read first

Expertise to look for

Recognition

Independent awards give a buyer a reason to taste. We promote and take part in the International Cheese & Dairy Awards (ICDA), but we do not run them: our coverage of recognition and awards.

GROW, if you want joined-up help

Relevant capabilities: Marketing and commercial strategy, Retail listing consultancy. How GROW works. It starts with a fact-finding workshop, and if GROW is not the right answer we say so.

The room

Dairy Forum Ireland in Cork runs over two days; Dairy Forum London is an evening. Both put producers, buyers and suppliers in one room. Plan who you should meet before you travel.

Stage

Scaling production

Demand is growing faster than the business is.

Work through

  1. The constraint that actually binds: yield, labour, maturation, packing or cash
  2. Investment sequenced so quality survives the volume
  3. Working capital that growth consumes before it returns
  4. Food safety systems and accreditation at the new scale

Read first

Expertise to look for

GROW, if you want joined-up help

Relevant capabilities: Production optimisation, Market readiness, Compliance and technical readiness. How GROW works. It starts with a fact-finding workshop, and if GROW is not the right answer we say so.

The room

Dairy Forum Ireland in Cork runs over two days; Dairy Forum London is an evening. Both put producers, buyers and suppliers in one room. Plan who you should meet before you travel.

Stage

Looking to export

Another market is interested. You have no offer built for it yet.

Work through

  1. Whether the product, documentation and capacity are ready for that market
  2. Positioning for buyers who do not know your story yet
  3. Pricing, terms and logistics that survive a border
  4. Which room to be in first: buyers, distributors or a forum

Read first

Expertise to look for

Recognition

Independent awards give a buyer a reason to taste. We promote and take part in the International Cheese & Dairy Awards (ICDA), but we do not run them: our coverage of recognition and awards.

GROW, if you want joined-up help

Relevant capabilities: Export market readiness, Market readiness, Brand and proposition. How GROW works. It starts with a fact-finding workshop, and if GROW is not the right answer we say so.

The room

Dairy Forum Ireland in Cork runs over two days; Dairy Forum London is an evening. Both put producers, buyers and suppliers in one room. Plan who you should meet before you travel.

Stage

Looking for investment

The plan needs money the business does not generate yet.

Work through

  1. A commercial model an investor can read: margin, working capital, returns
  2. Evidence that demand is real and repeatable
  3. What the money buys, in what order, and what that makes possible
  4. The people and partners who make the plan credible

Read first

Expertise to look for

GROW, if you want joined-up help

Relevant capabilities: Marketing and commercial strategy, Market readiness. How GROW works. It starts with a fact-finding workshop, and if GROW is not the right answer we say so.

The room

Dairy Forum Ireland in Cork runs over two days; Dairy Forum London is an evening. Both put producers, buyers and suppliers in one room. Plan who you should meet before you travel.

None of these quite you?

Tell us where the business is and what you think is holding it back. One sentence is enough, and we will point you to the right people, which may or may not be us.

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