We started yogurt production in November 1990, with a small 50 litre pasteuriser and were potting by hand. To begin with we made Plain, Strawberry, Raspberry, Cherry, Forest Fruits and Peach Melba. On average we made about 25 litres a week (150 pots) and sold them on our milkround .
In 1991/92 we started selling them in some shops in Cheltenham, gradually making more pots. Come the mid 90s we were making about 50 litres a week (300 pots). Expansion started in the late 90's, when we began supplying shops outside Cheltenham. Moving up to about 100 litres a week, we bought a semi-automatic potting machine and a bigger 100 litre pasteuriser in 2001. A dedicated room for yogurt production was opened in 2002, and three new flavours were added - Blackcurrant, Rhubarb and Toffee.
By 2005 we were making 500 litres a week, with a dedicated fridge van purely for direct to shop deliveries. In September 2006 our yogurt man, grandson David, went to making it full time. We added another 100 litre pasteuriser in 2008, and another new flavour - Gooseberry.
The Grunwald fully automatic filler arrived in December 2010. Production then upped to 700 litres a week. We have been making, on average, 11,000 small pots and about 2500 large pots per month for the last 3 years.
We started off making them in small batches in 1990. Back then we had to put the lids on ourselves, made 6 flavours and produced around 600 small pots per month.
Due to a change in circumstances, we are looking for someone to take on the role of chief yogurt maker on our small dairy farm in the Cotswolds. The current yogurt maker has been with us for 15 years, but his family commitments have changed so sadly, he is leaving. The job currently involves an average of 5 days/40 hours a week. The days worked can be varied to suit the right candidate.
Our emphasis is on making the very best yogurt, using the fresh milk from our own dairy herd. We currently make approximately 12,000 150ml pots and 2,000 1 pint pots of yogurt each month, in 9 flavours. We are an expanding business, so this is the chance to really make your mark and increase the amount of retail customers we supply to.
Our yogurt making room is heavily automated, but some lifting of large buckets of milk and flavours will be required, so you will need to be able to lift 20kg.
- Ability to prioritise flavour making to maintain stock levels, but not to stock pile as dates must remain good. This is a fresh product, so shelf life is limited.
- Keeping the production room clean and tidy after every shift.
- Preparing the production room for the next shift
