Matthijs Baan is the farmer and innovator behind ElkeMelk, the milk brand that bottles the milk from each of his cows individually. This happens on the milk farm in Molenaarsgraaf (Zuid-Holland), within 10 minutes after milking, so nothing of the freshness and the ‘cow-specific-flavour’ gets lost. On the label of each bottle of ElkeMelk you can read which cow delivered the milk, what is the precise content and the timing of the milk session.
Usually the milk in the dairy shelf is an anonymous white bulk product. The production flow is long, the milk is stored for 3 days in a tank, is transported per truck and mingled with the milk of other milk farms when bottled in milk cartons. During an innovation workshop Matthijs Baan realised this was not the way to go, and he looked for another way to differentiate his honest but nameless product on a market and food chain where sustainability, traceability and transparency became more and more important. His target audience? High educated urban consumers looking for a good and honest story about their daily food. Was it easy? Not in the least, but this innovation shows that it’s worth fighting for your vision, even if the industry does not seem to be ready for you. Well done, Matthijs!
If you are shopping at Albert Heijn in The Netherlands, look for the milk of Tineke 178, Joke 64, Sneek 520 or Johanna 104. I certainly will.
You can buy a bottle of 800 cc for 1,39 euro at AH Nederland and Jumbo.
A successful innovation story turning an anonymous product into an exclusive, distinctive future love brand.