Who gets the cream –
There’s no such thing as a budget cow, so how come milk from the same animals can cost more with a different label on it? Rob Stock looks at the factors behind the varying prices on our supermarket shelves.
The population is divided on whether there really is a difference in taste between budget branded milk on sale at the supermarket, and branded milks like Anchor and Meadow Fresh.
Many take the straightforward position that there’s no such thing as a budget cow. To those people, milk is milk.
To others, however, there is a difference in taste, and they can’t understand the blunted palates of the people who buy budget milk out of choice, not necessity.
So just what are the differences in this everyday product?
PRICE DIFFERENCE
Perhaps the biggest difference is in the price. On August 17, Countdown Mt Eden was selling 2-litre light-blue Anchor for $4.57.
Countdown branded 2-litre light-blue milk was selling for $1.07 less, at $3.50.
And Signature Range 2-litre light-blue milk was selling for 50 cents less, at $4.00.
A household consuming eight litres a week will spend just under an extra $222 a year on milk if they go with Anchor instead of a Countdown branded milk.
If we all went budget for milk, there’d be less money in dairy.
But dairy co-operative Fonterra says that does not necessarily mean less money for farmers, as prices are set globally. Whether milk ends up in a budget bottle or a higherpriced branded bottle, Fonterra’s farmers are paid the same price at the farm gate.
PRODUCT DIFFERENCE
Faced with a choice between the budget Cow & Gate brand, and Meadow Fresh, both Goodman Fielder brands, consumers ought to be able to notice a real difference, the company says.
‘‘Cow & Gate is the more budget-friendly option, which is standardised milk,’’ explains Ra Fletcher, Goodman Fielder’s communications manager. ‘‘Standardised milk contains the same levels of protein throughout the year. With Cow & Gate Original, this is 3.1g per 100ml. The minimum required level is 3.0g per 100ml.’’
This is milk processing in action, producing a consistent product throughout the year.
But after a consumer pushback over the use of ‘‘permeate’’ in milk processing, Meadow Fresh was processed differently. ‘‘Meadow Fresh milks were relaunched in 2016 as permeate-free,’’ Fletcher says. ‘‘This results in naturally occurring higher levels of protein. In fact, throughout the year we will have on average 25 per cent more protein in our Meadow Fresh Original Milk than the minimum required levels.’’
Protein levels in Meadow Fresh vary throughout the seasons, with higher levels in autumn and winter, and lower ones in spring and summer.
‘‘The range of protein in the Meadow Fresh Original permeate-free milk will be from 3.5g per 100ml and 4.5g per 100ml over the year, which is 13-45 per cent more protein than the standardised Cow & Gate Original milk,’’ Fletcher says.
TASTE DIFFERENCE
And where there’s a processing difference, there’s a taste difference. ‘‘Of course higher protein levels would naturally have an impact on making the perfect flat white,’’ he says.
Getting straight ‘‘yes/no’’ answers on whether there really is a difference between budget branded milk on sale at the supermarket, and branded milks like Anchor, can be frustrating.
‘‘Both contain pure fresh milk,’’ says Grant Watson, acting sales director at Fonterra Brands.
The supermarkets are also not keen to comment on taste differences. They see themselves as marketplaces providing choice for consumers, and are not about to start making negative comparisons between products on their shelves.
Woolworths’ Antoinette Laird says: ‘‘Supermarkets tend to have their own brand of milk, which competes with supplier brands. Competition is good for customers, especially in terms of price.
‘‘Added to this, some customers simply prefer the taste of certain brands of milk, or make choices around the additional health and nutrition claims. Essentially the range on offer reflects what customers want to buy.’’
NUTRITIONAL DIFFERENCE
While taste is to some extent subjective, the nutritional information on milk bottle labels should not be. And they do show differences.
Per 100ml, there was 192 kilojoules (kJ) of energy in Woolworths branded light-blue milk, 3.5g of protein, 4.6g of carbohydrates, 34mg of sodium, and 125mg of calcium.
Compare that with Signature Range light-blue milk, which has 200kJ of energy, 3.7g of protein, 4.8g of carbohydrates, 45g of sodium, and 140mg of calcium.
Per 100ml in light-blue Anchor milk there was 194kJ of energy, 3.5g of protein, 4.8g of carbohydrates, 41mg of sodium, and 117mg of calcium.
Small differences, but if the labels are to be believed, real differences nonetheless.
MARGIN DIFFERENCE
How much of the price difference between milks is made up by supermarket margins is a closely guarded secret.
Neither Woolworths nor Foodstuffs reveals its margins, and supplier agreements restrict the amount they can say, including sometimes prohibiting them from revealing the price the product sells for to the supermarket.
They also point to a marketing cost premium on the non-budget milks, which is paid by the likes of Fonterra Brands and Goodman Fielder.
Effectively, the supermarkets pay less for their white-labelled budget milk, which still comes from the same milk-bottling plants as the branded alternatives.
‘‘As with all our own brand products, our aim with Countdown milk is to provide a good everyday option, and to keep it as affordable as we can for customers,’’ says Nikhil Sawant, Countdown’s head of perishables, deli and bakery.
‘‘The packaging is basic and costs are kept to a minimum, but it’s absolutely as fresh and good quality as any other fresh milk on the market.
‘‘Where we receive lower milk prices from our suppliers, we pass these on to customers.’’
BOTTLE DIFFERENCE
Pay less, and you get fatter, less fridge-friendly bottles, which may be engineered to pour less smoothly than the bottles richer folk pay for.
Fletcher says: ‘‘The Meadow Fresh bottle is sturdy, and semiopaque so people can still see how much is left inside. It ticks all the boxes; easy to pour, improved grip, fits snugly in the fridge door and has a handy measuring guide on the side.’’
Fonterra maintains its Anchor light-proof bottle makes a difference, even though Consumer NZ cast doubt on the claim several years ago.
‘‘Our Anchor Lightproof bottle protects the fresh flavour of milk by stopping light-induced oxidation,’’ Fonterra’s Grant Watson says.
‘‘Taste can be a very personal thing. However, research has found continuous exposure to sunlight and fluorescent light
Taste is to some extent subjective. Hit social media, and there are all sorts of conspiracy theories.