How can Donegal Creameries still sell milk against cheaper competitors?

NIMAN

Correction:

I bought 1 litre of DC milk this morning and it was indeed €1.19.

2moreMinutes

homer simpson wrote: »

Another thing, people are saying the milk all comes cows which is very true so why then does more often than not the cheaper branded milk come with a much longer shelf life / use by date than DC's milk

2litres of Daisy Lane milk had same BB date as Dgl Creameries where I bought milk today. €1.49 for 2 litres v €1.15 for 1 litre (forget DC 2 litre price). It also has the IE stamp on it which I believe means its sourced in Ireland.

leedslad

Farm Fresh low fat is my preferred choice from Millburn Daries in Lk. Where abouts in LK?

darced

This post has been deleted.

yourpics

leedslad wrote: »

Farm Fresh low fat is my preferred choice from Millburn Daries in Lk. Where abouts in LK?

Castelfin I think

md23040

homer simpson wrote: »

The main thing that would stand out for me is the taste, I find a taste of plastic from the cheaper brand's of milk....

I put some DC milk in a freshly empty cheaper brand plastic carton (after being well washed out), left for about 24 hours and then poured 2 glasses of milk. 1 from the DC milk left in the plastic carton, the other from the original DC milk carton and the one in the cheaper plastic packaging tasted awful and the original was fine. Both of us agreed too :eek: We buy DC milk only now.

Would love to see competition against DLC because we buy loads of milk and my wife and kids think alternatives are plasticky too.

So basically according to posts here and from personal experience there`s definitely a market opportunity for any competitor supplying milk in tetra cartons.

Also it can't be the cost of tetra packaging pushing up the price either because DL creameries supplies 2 litre plastic cartons at €2.24 which is twice the price of the 1 litre tetra. So they`re feeding of brand loyalty and getting away with massive margins on high turnover product which is an amazing fete in such a price sensitive general environment.

Btw Tesco do a fantastic organic milk carton, much cheaper too than DLC, but Tesco's a bit away from me.....

Beanstalk

i always hated the plastic bottles because of the aftertaste and for years i would only buy the dlc cartons but recently i bought the aldi milk in the carton and theres no difference in my opinion, plus its 79c a litre!

harpstilidie

It's a bit like drinking Coke from a can and from a plastic bottle, it seems to taste nicer from a can. I've been brought up drinking DC milk and will only drink it now. The other stuff is fine for tea/coffee but if I'm having a glass of milk it has to be DC.

GoldenGreen

just though i would put this up:

Donegal Creameries sells liquid milk and cream products under the brands of
“Donegal Creameries,” “Milburn,” “Farm Fresh,” and “Daisylane.” Almost
all of Donegal Creameries’ total sales of branded liquid milk and cream
products are made in Co. Donegal.

http://www.tca.ie/images/uploaded/documents/M-11-037%20Connacht%20Gold%20Donegal%20Creameries%20Public.pdf

Goodshape

GoldenGreen wrote: »

just though i would put this up:

http://www.tca.ie/images/uploaded/documents/M-11-037%20Connacht%20Gold%20Donegal%20Creameries%20Public.pdf

Interesting! I wonder if there's any difference at all to the quality / how they're produced. Must buy one of those brands and compare.


It's not really DLC vs plastic bottles though, is it? Other brands do cardboard containers too, and doesn't DLC have a plastic 2ltr?

I think DLC vs other brands and cardboard vs plastic are two separate issues.

uberalles

Cream war begun has

TPD

I'm surprised Oatfields' chocolates didn't taste better with the access to the milk of the gods up here.

I'm in the 'DC tastes better' camp by the way :P Having said that, I'd only notice the odd time I'd take a notion to drink a pint or two straight. In tea or on cereal it's all the same.

Maldesu

A visiting relation bought a carton of milk for me from Lidl and knowing that I loath the fat free stuff, made a point of buying 'organic whole milk' which she added in triumph, that its from Donegal too. Indeed, it's from Donegal Creameries but I've no idea how much it cost. Next time your in take a look to see where it's from.

2moreMinutes

GoldenGreen wrote: »

just though i would put this up:



http://www.tca.ie/images/uploaded/documents/M-11-037%20Connacht%20Gold%20Donegal%20Creameries%20Public.pdf

I guess they're grabbing all shares of the market - the loyal Daisi customers and the "its all coming from a cow anyway" customers.

A slight derail while still connected to the above but I remember a factory worker telling me a while back that a well know crisps brand produce and supply their own popular packets as well as packets for either Lidl or Aldi (cant remember now which one). The only difference was they changed the wrapping on the machines when it was time to produce the "German" variety.:D

BlackEdelweiss

They are just different labels, they know if they do not have a cheaper product then people will buy a cheaper milk produced by another supplier. They are catering to different market demographics. The snobs will continue to buy the expensive carton and the smart people will buy the cheaper carton/bottle.

byte

2moreMinutes wrote: »

I guess they're grabbing all shares of the market - the loyal Daisi customers and the "its all coming from a cow anyway" customers.

A slight derail while still connected to the above but I remember a factory worker telling me a while back that a well know crisps brand produce and supply their own popular packets as well as packets for either Lidl or Aldi (cant remember now which one). The only difference was they changed the wrapping on the machines when it was time to produce the "German" variety.:D

I'm to believe that Largo Foods who own Hunky Dorys, Tayto, King, etc. make crisps for Aldi alright, especially the Okey Dokey crisps that mimic Hunky Dorys.

homer simpson

NIMAN wrote: »

I think I will do a taste test this weekend to see if there is a difference.

Well?

NIMAN

homer simpson wrote: »

Well?

Tbh, I usually only drink Semi-skimmed, but I did taste the DC carton full fat milk (belonging to the wains) v a full fat in a plastic container, and there did seem to be a difference in taste ok. Not sure if you would call it a nicer or better taste, but certainly different.

I must try the semi-skimmed next to see if I notice anything, cos to be honest the full fat seemed so rich to me that it might just have been the high of getting full fat milk again!!

Technique

Donegal Creameries put their highest quality and freshest milk into cartons, the rest goes into plastic containers.

The reason for this is that the cartons are mostly delivered by milkmen and need to be of a high quality

NIMAN

Technique wrote: »

Donegal Creameries put their highest quality and freshest milk into cartons, the rest goes into plastic containers.

The reason for this is that the cartons are mostly delivered by milkmen and need to be of a high quality

I might not be a farmer here, but highest quality milk? Is there different qualities?

And freshest? Surely all milk is fresh at first, and by that logic it should all be put into cartons? For stuff not to be the freshest, does that mean DC leave it lying around for a day or two then put it into plastic containers?;)

implausible

Technique wrote: »

Donegal Creameries put their highest quality and freshest milk into cartons, the rest goes into plastic containers.

The reason for this is that the cartons are mostly delivered by milkmen and need to be of a high quality

This sounds like marketing spiel!

Technique

NIMAN wrote: »

I might not be a farmer here, but highest quality milk? Is there different qualities?

And freshest? Surely all milk is fresh at first, and by that logic it should all be put into cartons? For stuff not to be the freshest, does that mean DC leave it lying around for a day or two then put it into plastic containers?;)

Correct

NIMAN

Which part is correct? All of it?

CrowWoman

We moved down from Derry a couple of years back and I really miss the milk in the glass bottles I could get there. None of the stuff in the cartons or Tetrapaks tastes the same.

There's something about having those bottles of milk on the windowsill in the morning that lets you know that life's good.

GismoBaby

I was raised on NCF milk (connaght equivelent to yer DC) - now Connaght Gold - loved the stuff till they put it into plastic 2 litre bottles and could taste the difference, horrible. The 'taste' is especially noticable in full fat milk so stopped drinking it all together and only drink low fat now. When i moved to Donegal I bought DC cos I knew no better, and i liked the wee cow on the box TBH , until i looked at the receipt one day and realised the price!! so began the search for cheaper milk and ive had all the brands mentioned - daisyland, farm fresh, milburn? cant remember them all but ive had them all at some stage! I've finally settled on aldi's wee 1 litre, semi skimmed milk - in cardboard and even has a wee cap Its SSoooo handy! and at 75c, i can have 3 litre for the price of 2l of DC!

NIMAN

I have to admit that the DC milk out of the carton has a different taste than that from a plastic container. Some may call it 'better', but is it really worth the difference in price?

Must try the Lidl/Aldi stuff.

BlackEdelweiss

NIMAN wrote: »

I have to admit that the DC milk out of the carton has a different taste than that from a plastic container. Some may call it 'better', but is it really worth the difference in price?

Must try the Lidl/Aldi stuff.

That is just the difference in the container, as someone else said the milk in Derry tastes better from a bottle. I cant imagine DC have the set up to be transfering milk from one dispensing machine to another as it gets older to put it in a different container.

The Idyl Race

Simple. Donegal Creamery milk to me is nicer and doesn't have a horrible plasticised taste off it from the bottles. I've tasted horrible crap like Cravendale (the convenience store brand in Britain) and the utterly vile Golden Vale. All milk is not the same.

Seaney86

Goodshape wrote: »

Maybe a certain amount of brand loyalty, and 'shopping local'.

I'm also firmly in the "it tastes better" camp. Honestly haven't even looked past it on the shelf, since I moved back to Donegal, to notice there was any price difference.

I have to agree with the "tastes better" theory!