Quality, sustainability and a close tie to the local community have now earned a South Shropshire family business the title of Dairy Producer of the Year at the local business awards. Based at Hatton, where the family has farmed for 30 years, Proper Good Dairy produces organic, unhomogenised whole milk from its own herd of cows. It is gently pasteurised in small batches and sold in reusable glass bottles, so the milk keeps its natural creaminess, with the cream rising to the top just as many people remember from years gone by.
Rather than sending everything away in a bulk tanker, the family processes and bottles its milk on the farm and supplies local independent shops, cafés and other businesses, so the people producing the milk and the customers drinking it are closely linked. For the team, the award recognises the considerable work involved in doing things a little differently. From caring for an organic dairy herd to washing and refilling thousands of glass bottles, Proper Good Dairy has chosen an approach that demands extra effort but fits the values the family believes in. Judging by the support of its customers, that effort is being appreciated.
Thirty years of family farming in South Shropshire
The story begins at Hatton, where the family has been farming for three decades. For many of those years the farm worked the way countless other dairy farms across the country do: milk was produced, collected in a bulk tanker and taken away, eventually reaching consumers through a much larger supply chain. That system gave the family a way to sell its milk, but very little connection with the people who drank it. As the business explains, the milk would simply disappear down the road, with no chance to meet the families enjoying it at breakfast or using it in their everyday routines.
Over time the family began to think about how that could change. They knew the milk from their organically grazed herd had a rich, creamy flavour, and they wanted local people to be able to taste it directly. At the same time, the amount of single-use plastic in everyday food packaging was becoming harder to ignore. Fresh local milk in reusable glass bottles answered both concerns, letting the family take responsibility for how their milk reached customers and build a more direct relationship with the surrounding community.
Turning the idea into a working business took significant investment and an entirely new set of responsibilities. Instead of relying solely on bulk milk collection, the family installed its own processing facilities and began bottling the milk themselves. It meant considerably more work, but it gave them the chance to build something that matched their values. Proper Good Dairy was born from that ambition: to produce excellent milk, reduce reliance on disposable packaging and reconnect local people with the farm responsible for what they drink.
Bringing cream-top milk back to local homes
Proper Good Dairy keeps its milk as natural and straightforward as possible. It produces organic whole milk and deliberately chooses not to homogenise it, and for anyone used to conventional supermarket milk the difference is obvious the moment they open a bottle. In homogenised milk, the fat droplets are broken into smaller particles by a high-pressure process, which stops the cream separating and rising. Proper Good Dairy's milk is instead gently pasteurised in small batches and left unhomogenised, so the cream rises naturally to the top of the bottle, a traditional feature many customers associate with the milk they drank when they were younger.
The milk comes straight from the farm's own organic herd, linking the animals, the land and the finished product. Rather than offering lots of variations, the business concentrates on doing one thing well: organic, unhomogenised whole milk. That simplicity is deliberate, as the family wants customers to know exactly what they are buying. For some people it means rediscovering a familiar taste from childhood; for others, particularly younger customers, it is something entirely new. Either way, the family takes great pride in milk that stands out for its freshness, flavour and cream-top finish.
Making reusable glass bottles part of everyday life
Packaging matters to the family as much as the milk. From the outset they wanted to cut the single-use plastic that comes with buying milk, so instead of disposable cartons Proper Good Dairy uses one-litre reusable glass bottles. Customers can return their empties to participating stockists and get £1 off their next bottle. The returned bottles are collected, taken back to the farm, washed, sterilised and refilled.
It is a simple system for customers, but it takes considerable work behind the scenes. Washing and preparing thousands of bottles for reuse takes time, equipment and careful organisation, and the family accepts that it is more labour-intensive than using disposable cartons. They believe the benefits justify the extra work, because the bottles stay in circulation rather than becoming more throwaway packaging. Every rinsed bottle a customer brings back helps keep the system running, so sustainability shapes how the milk is processed, packaged and distributed rather than being a message printed on a label.
One of the most encouraging discoveries has been how willing local customers are to take part. What first felt like a considerable gamble has become a central part of the business's identity, and for the team, each returned bottle is another reminder that customers value the chance to make a different choice.
From the farm gate to local independent shops
Proper Good Dairy supplies local independent retailers and food businesses rather than large supermarket chains. Its milk is sold through a network of local farm shops, delicatessens, convenience stores, petrol stations, cafés and catering businesses. For the family, these are relationships as well as places to sell milk. Regular deliveries mean the team gets to know the owners and staff behind local shop counters, a connection that would be hard to keep up through a bulk supply arrangement. The family enjoys hearing feedback from stockists, learning how customers respond to the milk and finding out that people are coming back for another bottle.
Local retailers also make the bottle scheme work. By accepting empties and managing returns, they make the system convenient for customers and make sure the bottles get back to the farm. The arrangement supports the dairy and gives local shops a distinctive product to sell, with the farm, retailers and customers all playing a part in keeping the business going. For a family that once watched its milk leave anonymously in a bulk tanker, being able to talk directly with the people selling and drinking it has changed how they see their own product. Proper Good Dairy is now part of a network of local businesses and customers who like knowing where their food comes from.
Learning a whole new business beyond dairy farming
The family had decades of experience producing milk, but processing, bottling and selling it directly brought an entirely different set of challenges. As the team readily acknowledges, they were dairy farmers first and foremost. Livestock, pasture and everyday farm work were familiar territory, but running a branded consumer business needed skills they had not previously needed in the same way. Suddenly, marketing, wholesale sales, delivery routes, customer relationships and even van driving were part of the working day.
Installing the milk processing room and getting the bottling running was a particularly big hurdle, since it meant taking on stages of production that had previously happened elsewhere in the supply chain. Then, just as the new venture was getting started, the Covid pandemic arrived, bringing uncertainty around staffing, logistics and day-to-day operations. The pandemic also changed demand, with more people looking for local food and everyday essentials, and Proper Good Dairy adapted quickly, increasing its glass bottle sales to meet that interest.
Rather than sticking to a fixed plan, the family learned to respond to what customers needed. There was plenty of practical problem-solving, and not every lesson came easily. They describe the process as a baptism of fire, but one that gave them a clearer understanding of the business they wanted to build and taught them the value of flexibility, determination and learning new skills. That same practical, hands-on approach still drives the business today.
Creating local jobs and marking milestones
Getting the processing room working was an important achievement, but one of the family's most memorable moments was much simpler: seeing someone walk out of a local shop carrying one of their glass milk bottles. After all the planning, investment and hard work, that everyday sight meant their milk was finally reaching local customers the way they had hoped. It was no longer disappearing anonymously into a bulk tanker. People in nearby communities were choosing it.
As sales grew, the business reached the point where it could create local jobs. Taking on the first employee was a significant step for the family, followed by a second team member as the business continued to grow. Those decisions showed the venture was becoming a viable local business rather than a side project alongside the farm, and the family takes pride in knowing that its products, customers and partnerships are helping support jobs in the area. Even so, the smallest moments often bring the most satisfaction. Hearing that someone has become a regular, or that the milk is now part of a family's daily routine, means an enormous amount, and for the team it is the clearest sign that local people value what they started.
Farming organically with care for the land
Everything starts with the land and the animals. The family farms organically, grazing its cows on mixed herbal grasses and clover pastures in South Shropshire, and believes the way the cows are managed is closely connected to the character of the milk. Farming and bottling are not separate operations to them but stages of the same process: the milk begins in the farm's pastures, comes from the herd, and is processed and bottled on site before it goes to local retailers.
The family keeps looking at how to develop its pasture management. Different herbal leys and clover mixtures are being considered and trialled to give the cows more variety while supporting soil quality and the surrounding environment, and the team is keen to learn how different combinations affect the land and the wellbeing of the herd. Beyond the grazing, the family is exploring ways to improve existing wildlife habitats around the farm, including hedgerows and field margins, to support local biodiversity. Having lived and worked at Hatton for 30 years, they see caring for the surrounding countryside as part of the future of the business, a matter of long-term stewardship rather than short-term convenience.
Opening the farm gates to the next generation
After years of producing milk that vanished into a bulk tanker, the family now enjoys showing customers the people, animals and land behind it. Helping people understand where their food comes from is, for them, part of being a local farming business. Proper Good Dairy takes part in Open Farm Sunday, welcoming visitors to learn about everyday life on a working dairy farm, and also hosts visits where children can see cows grazing outdoors and start to understand how milk is produced. For younger visitors, seeing the animals behind something they drink at home can be exciting and memorable, and it links the food on the breakfast table to the work that goes into it.
The family lives on the farm, their children are growing up there, and the countryside around it is part of their everyday lives. Rather than letting the farm feel hidden away behind a closed gate, they want it connected to the community around them. Visits give them the chance to answer questions, explain how they work and share their enthusiasm for it. The aim is not simply to promote the milk but to encourage an interest in farming, food production and the countryside among people who may have little direct experience of agricultural life.
Proud to call South Shropshire home
After three decades at Hatton, South Shropshire is where the family lives, works and is raising the next generation, not only where the business operates. With Carding Mill Valley and the Long Mynd nearby, the farm sits in a part of Shropshire the family considers particularly special. They describe South Shropshire as a hidden gem and value both its landscape and the strength of its community. For a farming family, the fields, pastures and changing seasons shape the work of caring for the herd and producing milk.
That attachment shapes how the business is run. Selling locally and working with independent retailers lets the family build relationships in the area rather than relying on distant supply chains. Local customers recognise the product, shopkeepers know the people delivering it, and the family hears directly from those who enjoy the milk. The business wants to stay closely tied to its surroundings and to sell a product people are proud to buy, and the family finds it especially satisfying that milk from their own herd has become part of everyday life in the communities around them.
When customers rediscover the taste of traditional milk
Some of the most memorable moments come from conversations about taste. The family regularly hears from people who say the milk reminds them of what they drank growing up. For anyone who remembers cream rising naturally to the top of the bottle, it offers something that can be harder to find among conventional supermarket products, and those comments mean a lot because keeping the milk's natural character was one of the reasons the business began.
The stories that stay with the family most, though, involve children. Some parents have explained that their child showed little interest in milk until they tried Proper Good Dairy's, and hearing that a child who once avoided milk now happily drinks a glass every day is especially rewarding. It shows the appeal of the rich, creamy flavour the family works hard to preserve, and that customers do not need an elaborate explanation of farming or processing to appreciate it. Whether people have it with breakfast, in a cup of tea or poured into a glass, the family takes pride in making something people look forward to drinking. For a business set up to bring producers and consumers closer together, those everyday moments are exactly what the family hoped for.
A proud moment for Proper Good Dairy
Being named Dairy Producer of the Year came as a wonderful surprise. For people whose working days involve looking after cows, running the farm and spending hours washing bottles, public recognition is not something that happens every day. As the team put it, they were “surprised” and “genuinely chuffed” to discover that people had taken the time to vote for the business. With several excellent businesses nominated, the family knew the competition was strong, which made the result mean even more.
The family sees the award as recognition of a more labour-intensive approach to producing and packaging milk. Washing, sterilising and reusing glass bottles takes far more hands-on work than buying in disposable plastic cartons, and keeping an organic dairy herd means sticking to the farming practices the family believes in. Those choices define Proper Good Dairy, but they are not always the easiest option, so knowing that customers notice and appreciate the effort is a tremendous boost. The award also reflects the relationships built with local retailers and customers since the business began, since every returned bottle, repeat purchase and recommendation has helped it grow. It has given the family extra encouragement as they consider introducing Proper Good Dairy to more local stockists.
Why the award matters to customers and stockists
The family sees the win as recognition of the customers and independent businesses that made the venture possible, not just the people on the farm. The glass bottle system has always depended on people taking part: customers have to remember to return their empties, and shopkeepers and other stockists collect them for reuse. It takes cooperation, and the family believes that shared effort is one of the reasons it works, with every returned bottle keeping the cycle of washing, sterilising and refilling going.
For customers, the award is reassurance that their support for local food and reusable packaging is appreciated. It also celebrates the independent retailers who have given Proper Good Dairy space on their shelves and introduced it to new people, and whom the family values as partners in bringing fresh milk to nearby communities rather than simply as sales outlets. The recognition may also reach people who have not yet tried the milk, particularly those interested in locally produced food or alternatives to single-use packaging. Still, the family is clear that its greatest achievement is the ongoing support of regular customers. An award is a wonderful moment, but the everyday decisions of the people who buy and return each bottle are what keep the farm's direct-to-customer venture going.
Better bottling and a more nature-friendly farm
With the award behind it, Proper Good Dairy is looking at its next stage. One priority is the bottling operation. As demand has grown, washing, preparing and filling reusable glass bottles has taken up more and more of the daily workload, and the family is considering upgrades to parts of the bottling line so it can keep up with demand while cutting some of the hours spent on repetitive work in the dairy. For a business still closely tied to the practical demands of running a farm, that could make a real difference, letting it keep supplying milk through the reusable bottle system with a more manageable process.
The family also plans to keep developing its organic farming, exploring different herbal leys and clover mixtures to give the herd more grazing variety and support the condition of the soil, and looking at further improvements to wildlife habitats already on the farm, including hedgerows and field margins. They want to produce excellent milk while caring for the land that supports the herd and the rural environment they live in. There is also enthusiasm for bringing more local retailers into the stockist network, so more customers can buy the milk without losing the personal relationships and local focus behind the business. For the family, growth means improving what they already do rather than losing sight of the principles that started it.
A thank you to everyone who supports the farm
The family is keen to thank everyone who helped make the award possible. First come the family members and farm team who keep the dairy running day after day: producing milk, caring for the herd, processing, bottle washing and deliveries all take considerable effort, and having people willing to work hard and support one another is essential. They also want to thank the independent shops and other local businesses that stock the milk. These retailers introduce customers to the product and handle the returnable bottles that make the system possible, and without them the direct link between the farm and local consumers would be much harder to keep up.
Most of all, the family wants to thank every customer who chooses Proper Good Dairy. When they first decided to bottle their own milk, they were unsure whether people would be willing to return glass bottles rather than throw away a plastic carton, or whether anyone still wanted the cream-top milk the family was so proud of. Customers have answered both questions, showing that they value the flavour, the connection to local farming and the chance to cut disposable packaging. Asked what they would most like to say to the people who buy their milk, the family said:
“Just a massive thank you. When we started bottling our own milk, we didn't know if people would bother with the hassle of glass bottles and returnable deposits, or if anyone still cared about having cream on top of their milk.”
“You've shown us that you do. Every bottle you buy helps keep our cows on clover pastures, keeps plastic out of the bin, and supports a working family farm in your area.”
The family sees the award as an achievement shared between the farm, its stockists and the people who have made its milk part of their everyday lives. With 30 years of family farming behind it, it processes organic milk on its own South Shropshire farm, keeps the traditional cream-top flavour and runs a reusable glass bottle system that brings farmer, retailer and customer closer together. Its plans are to improve the bottling operation and its environmental practices, and its ambition is straightforward: to keep producing fresh, delicious milk that people love, while caring for the farm and countryside that make it possible.