Farm Tender

Aussie Milk Powder satisfying Bangladeshis milky tea craving

With a strong tea drinking culture and thirst for milky tea, Bangladeshis are increasingly using powdered milk over condensed milk to whiten their ‘cuppa’ - and it turns out that they really like the pure taste of ‘Aussie’ full cream milk powder.

One of the most popular milk powders used in Bangladesh comes from the milk off dairy farms in Victoria’s South West, where it is turned into instant full cream milk powder at Fonterra’s Cobden site.

Lisa and Willy McKay run a dairy farm with over 200 dairy cows in Irrewillipe and send their milk to the Cobden plant 30 kilometres away.

“Willy and I met at a high profile dairy cattle sale in the USA a few years back. He is the fourth generation in his family to follow down a dairy farming path and my family have deep dairying ties too. We both have a passion for cows and we’re working together to build a future in dairy farming,” says Lisa.

Lisa says they strive for their herd to make high quality milk but had no idea that it was proving popular with Bangladeshi taste buds.

“We are proud that our milk is flowing into Australia’s growing dairy export industry,” says Lisa.

“We enjoy a good cuppa and it’s fantastic to know where our milk goes, making milk tea for millions of tea drinkers across Bangladesh.”

While adding a spoonful of full cream milk powder to make the perfect cup of tea might seem unusual to Australian taste buds, in Bangladesh, powdered milk is commonly used to make traditional dairy desserts and ice cream, sweets and bakery items.

It’s predicted that by 2025, 40 per cent more whole milk powder will be used in foods and beverages across Bangladesh as the population grows, purchasing power increases and healthy nutrition is on the menu.

Picture - Lisa and Willy McKay

https://www.fonterra.com/au/en.html