Winter 2018Lancashire Farm Dairies

An interview with Managing Director, Ahzar Zouq

Lancashire Farm Dairies was established in 1984 by current managing director Azhar Zouq and his father. Now a second generation family business, Lancashire Farm Dairies is one of the fastest growing grocery brands in the UK.

The dairy company had humble beginnings as a fruit and vegetable stall on Rochdale market, before branching out into wholesale yoghurt.

After spotting a gap in the market during the early 1990s, Azhar and his father decided to make their own Lancashire Farm natural yoghurt.

Employing 200 local residents, Lancashire Farm Dairies is based at premises on Kingsway Business Park.

The company now has a turnover of £33 million, continuing to grow by 20% year-on-year. In 2009, major retail supermarkets picked up the products, stocking its quality yoghurts in Asda and Tesco. Now, its products are sold all over the UK and are stocked in all Asda and Iceland stores.

The dairy company has picked up numerous awards, topping the bill at this year’s summer shows in Yorkshire and Nantwich, where the Lancashire Farm brand – and sister brand Pakeeza – picked up nine awards and two high commendations for its cream, lassi and yoghurts.

In 2018, the company became the first UK yoghurt manufacturer to commit to using free-range milk, sourced from 20 Lancashire farms. Lancashire Farm has developed its own free-range standard with a 150-day ‘grazing guarantee.’ This allows cows the freedom to benefit from roaming the fields, whereas a higher number could mean the herd is outside in harmful cold and wet conditions.

Managing director Ahzar Zouq explained: “Within the last few years, consumers have become increasingly aware of how food is manufactured and where it comes from. We have also noticed an increased call for clarity and transparency
within the dairy/food industry.

“There is a great deal of confusion around terms such as ‘grass-fed’, or by negative press focussing on the exceptions. That is why we worked closely with our milk producers, to make free-range the norm, rather than the exception.

“Our producers enable their herds to graze outside for at least 150 days a year, if not more when the Lancashire weather permits. The next closest standard is Waitrose, which has a 120-day period for milk.

“With free-range, we have encouraged higher welfare in the dairy system, which is expected to reduce stress across the cow’s lifetime, allowing for high quality, plentiful milk production, creating a more sustainable supply chain.

“We know this is something our customers want. We have looked towards free-range eggs as an example, which are still outgrowing their category, with most retailers committing to removing battery farms eggs by 2020.

“We are able to offer a premium to our farmers, providing them with a more sustainable milk price, that supports them through market volatility and extremes of weather. As a result, we have increased our supplier base on the back of free range, meaning we are able to work with, and support more local family run farms.

“Our focus is on farmers and free-range proposals, which is why we made the move to 100% free range.”

Lancashire Farm’s natural bio 1kg tub remains one of the company’s best sellers, thanks to its versatile nature, but also partly to a consumer shift away from the processed and sugary competition. The brand’s most recent release also reflects this, with the switch to free-range and fat-free Greekstyle yogurt, low in sugar and high in protein.