Dairy Crest to ramp up food home delivery

Dairy Crest already has 120,000 customers signed up to the scheme, which rolled out nationally this summer following a trial last year.

Shoppers at Milkandmore.co.uk are now offered a selection of staple foods delivered to their doorstep first thing in the morning. Dairy Crest, which already ran a milk delivery service, now also offers products such as bread, cheese, eggs, bacon, sausages, and fresh vegetables. Customers have until 9pm the previous evening to order online for a free next-day delivery.

Dairy Crest chief executive Mark Allen said: “Our customers have been very enthusiastic about Milk&More. We already had the delivery vans and are now just adding a few distress purchases to that delivery which offer our customers convenience.”

Allen said the range of products comprises “distress purchases” that shoppers may need to go to the local convenience store for. He said: “Our prices are akin to that of a convenience shop, so we are not trying to compete with the big supermarkets, rather with convenience stores.”

Dairy Crest - which owns brands such as Cathedral City, Clover, Countrylife and Frijj - said it has seen average customer orders increase since it introduced Milk&More. The average weekly spend of customers who previously bought milk was £4.50 and it has increased to £6.50 with the additional product range.

Allen said: “The milk doorstep business has been in decline for some time and now represents less than 10% of the total, so our scheme could help stem this decline.”

He said the move represents a return to a more community feel as customers will have the same milkman or woman each day. “Some of our milkmen have keys to their customers’ doors and pop the milk in the fridge if they’re not in, so with our increased product range it just gives them more convenience and the delivery being done by someone they trust.”

Allen said he will consider offering additional products if there is demand but “there is only so much we can carry on our vans”.