Aberdeenshire dairy benefits from local links amid pandemic

What is your business called?

rora dairy.

Where is it based?

Middleton of Rora farm in Longside, Aberdeenshire.

What does it produce?

We produce simple, pure Scottish yogurt made with organic milk, live culture and local Scottish ingredients. We have absolutely no additives in our products. We make natural, natural set and Greek style - raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, honey and fudge yogurts in a variety of sizes.

To whom does it sell?

Sainsburys and Morrisons in Scotland. They were introduced to our product at The Royal Highland Show. With Morrisons we initially started off as a local supplier, supplying only three stores in Aberdeenshire. We now supply 18 stores across Scotland.

We are stocked in local farm shops (like Gloagburn and Balgove Larder) and delis throughout the UK that are supplied by Cress Co. We also supply Williamsons of Inverness and many other food service companies that supply hotels and restaurants.

Every Thursday we do a local delivery to all our customers in Aberdeenshire. We’ve done this from our very first week of trading, until now, and we will continue to do it because our local customers have been wonderfully supportive, especially during Covid.

What is its turnover?

Approximately £300,000 but growing by the day.

How many employees?

Three plus me. There are two in production and one apprentice in packing. I also have a consultant who comes in once per week. We start the working day at 6am and finish one shift at 2pm and then we put on more yogurt at 7pm, add culture at 10pm and leave it to incubate over night, ready to pack in the morning. One of my employees has been with me since the very start of the business. Another is doing an apprenticeship in rural business management. She used to cycle here and work one hour per week, now she’s with us full time.

When was it formed?

The first product was sold on April 1st, 2017 – prior to this we focused on building production premises and learning how to make yogurt properly. I went to the West Highland Dairy and learned the skills and techniques needed to make yogurt. Then I toured Europe looking at equipment and I also went to work in a yogurt factory in Holland to fine tune my skills.

When I came back to Scotland, I started making yogurt in my kitchen every day. I don’t have a background in food, so it was trial and error. Initially, I would make it in 10-litre batches. Once we built the production facility, we started making yogurt in 500-litre batches. Now we have two 500-litre batches, so we can see steady growth.

The transition from making the yogurt in my kitchen to making it in our production facility felt quite daunting. When it comes to yogurt time, temperature and ph are really important. It is a methodology and we follow an exact process. Much of it is instinct on my part. We’re four years into the business and I have complete confidence that our process works.

Why did you take the plunge?

Isn’t that what you do when you marry a dairy farmer? We built a brand-new dairy and it seemed the next step was to start making a product with our milk. When I lived in London, people were very focused on giving their children sugar-free foods. I realised I was feeding my kids sugary yogurt and it made me want to create an alternative. Yogurt is a very natural product. It was important to me that the product had health and wellbeing at its core, plus it had to be sustainable and made locally.

What were you doing before you took the plunge?

My background was working in advertising in London. I met my husband and moved to Aberdeen where I started working for Aberdeen University, fundraising for medical research.

How did you raise the start-up funding?

We have a wind turbine on the farm, so we were able to use some of that income to help build the premises. We also benefited from an FPMC Grant from the Scottish Government.During the start-up phase we had help and advice from other food production companies which was invaluable to us.

What was your biggest break?

Launching in Sainsburys in January 2020, just a few months before lockdown, which allowed us to keep busy despite us losing customers that closed because of Covid-19. Thankfully, our sales managed to stay buoyant during the pandemic, and we opened a farm shop for the summer to sell to local people.

What was your worst moment?

When Boris Johnson announced the first lockdown that everyone should stay at home and all of our hospitality customers were to close. None of our staff came to work for two weeks as we understood this was the requirement, and yet the orders came flooding in as people were shopping locally. Luckily our boys were home from university and school and we returned to all making and potting yogurt together as we had done the first few weeks of the business, and we managed to get all the orders out. After the initial announcement and further investigation we realized as a food business that our staff were able to keep working and they happily did so – so all returned to normal after two weeks!

What do you most enjoy about running the business?

I love selling, so I feel confident approaching customers and selling the product. I did all our deliveries for the first two years of trading. I’ve done all of it - from making the product, to getting in the van and driving the product to the suppliers. I still call all the local shops every week asking what orders they would like. So, I’m fully immersed in the business.

I love the people I have met along the way. People in the food industry are so determined as margins are tight and the work is hard. I also love a new contract. I have a relationship with all my customers and ask them for their feedback very regularly.

What do you least enjoy?

Physically and mentally it’s hard work. It’s much harder than I thought it would be. I am always thinking about new equipment, staffing, making things more cost effective, looking after customers, and dealing with technology. I sometimes question if I’m a natural entrepreneur, but I’m passionate about the business and I believe in the product completely.

What are your ambitions for the firm?

I would love to keep growing and become recognized as a premium brand, sold across the UK.

What could the Westminster and/or Scottish governments do that would help?

Encourage more training of young people to attract them to join the food industry. It’s a huge part of the Scottish economy and yet very few think of it as a career opportunity. We’ve seen first hand how offering apprenticeships can give young people the experience and expertise to visualise a career in the food industry.

What was the most valuable lesson that you learned?

I have two: You can turn your hand to anything if you are brave enough and never send out a product if you are not 100% happy with it.

How do you relax?

Walking my dogs around the farm, which is a must even if I just get 20 minutes a day!.