A family of Isle of Wight farmers is calling on Islanders to get behind its new dairy venture, which it says is the cream of the crop.
The team at Crockers Farm wants national chains to moo-ve aside - and for Isle of Wight residents to support local produce.
It is hoped the new Cowes Milk Shed, which has officially opened today (Wednesday), will give Islanders an easily accessible and cheap alternative to supermarkets.
The shed, based along the main Newport to Cowes road, will offer freshly pasteurised milk from a vending machine - which has come from the family's herd of pedigree Holstein Friesians cows.
How does the vending machine work? Watch below...
Lord Lieutenant for the Isle of Wight, Susie Sheldon, cut the ribbon at today's opening ceremony. She says the venture is "absolutely fabulous":
"It's all the dairy farmers on the Isle of Wight working together. The cows live here, they are milked here, the milk goes over to Briddlesford Farm to be pasteurized and then some of it comes back here and into this amazing vending machine - it's extraordinary!
"You're not getting Coca-Cola out of it. You put your bottle in and you get milk - and of course the wonderful milkshakes. It's really good for the Island because we're not sending milk off the Island and bringing it back, we're doing everything here."
The venture is a family affair, with husband and wife Mary and Paul Bradley coming up with the idea alongside Lucy Collis and Julie Bradley.
Natural Enterprise and IW Rural fund have also thrown their support behind the project.
Speaking to Isle of Wight Radio, Mary said:
"We just wanted to pull something together, local, fresh and with our own produce and go for it really.
"We were suffering low milk prices and we thought we better try and do something to help ourselves."
There is no cash required for the vending machine, which takes contactless card payments.
Glass bottles can be purchased on site at £2.00 and are reusable and dishwasher friendly.
Paul and Mary's daughter, Lucy Collis, said:
“During these testing times of COVID 19 it has become clearer that people want local produce direct from the farmer, to reduce food miles, to reduce plastic packaging and to know and learn where their food is coming from.
"So, having the environment and circumstances we currently live in change dramatically we decided to invest and install a machine that is designed and built in the UK.”
As well as milk, favoured milkshakes - ranging from Strawberry to Banana - are available to purchase at the shed. It will cost £1.60 for a bottle of milkshake and £1.10 per bottle of whole milk.
The Cowes Milk Shed will be open from 7am until 7pm, daily.
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