20 minutes with Conor Mulhall, The Little Milk Company

Lorcan Allen speaks to Conor Mulhall, managing director at The Little Milk Company, about the growth of the business and the organic trend.

Lorcan Allen

2 August 2017

Conor Mulhall, The Little Milk Company.

Why was the Little Milk Company started?The Little Milk Company was set up by a group of organic dairy farmers in 2008 to add value to their milk and build a brand together. New farmers wishing to supply milk to the company do not need to invest in shares but can invest in shares via a separate process if they wish.

Why was the Little Milk Company started?

The Little Milk Company was set up by a group of organic dairy farmers in 2008 to add value to their milk and build a brand together. New farmers wishing to supply milk to the company do not need to invest in shares but can invest in shares via a separate process if they wish.

Is the market for organic milk growing?

Organic is very much on trend. The German organic dairy market has now touched €10bn, which was an increase of €1.4bn last year. People are now more conscious of what they eat. In the US and France, the growth is double-digit.

Where are your markets?

We’re in 14 countries and about 4,000 stores worldwide but our major markets remain Germany, France and the US.

Do you have plans to partner with more organic farmer suppliers?

With the price of conventional milk going up, we feel that now is the perfect time for conventional farmers to turn organic. The conventional price bounces around a bit, whereas organic is steadier.

How do you set the milk price?

In January or February every year, we put our milk price calculator together. We pay based on solids, protein and fat. So we’re rewarding good farmers for giving us good-quality milk.

What are the advantages of being a niche producer of high-quality products?

Because we’re organic, when we sell our products in Germany, France and the US, we go to markets where Ornua has been before us. It has already sold the idea of Ireland as a clean green nation, with outdoor reared and grass-fed cows. We’re layering family-run farms and organic production on top of that story. Being the niche player allows us to piggyback on the excellent reputation of Irish dairy abroad.

Which export markets offer the most opportunity for Irish dairy?

For us, we would see that Germany, France and the US would have the best potential. The US obviously buys a lot of Irish product and it has a very good view of Ireland and a good understanding of what the Irish grass-fed dairy industry looks like. Likewise, in Germany and France, they are very knowledgeable about Ireland.

What is the biggest challenge of being an SME business?

The biggest challenge is getting your hands on enough money to grow. So having a good relationship with your bank manager and a good funding profile between banks, State agencies and private funding is very important to allow you to grow. If you have a decent growth trajectory, it’s very important you have the cash to finance that. Even during boom times or recession times, the challenge for SMEs is always the same – finance.