Pāmu was the first company in the world to commercialize deer milk, working alongside South Island deer farmers Peter and Sharon McIntyre since 2016. The product gained attention for its unusually high protein, fat and mineral content, as well as its lower lactose levels compared with cow’s milk. It was marketed as a premium nutrition product for older consumers, children and specialty food applications.

Despite the strong nutritional profile and a series of industry awards, deer milk remained a small and expensive category. Pāmu had positioned it as a niche product for foodservice, supplements, cosmetics and export markets in Asia, rather than as a mainstream supermarket item. The company said the challenge was not proving the quality of the milk, but making the business commercially viable on a larger scale.

The deer milk venture had attracted international attention over the past several years. Pāmu completed more than 2,700 quality tests and partnered with research institutions to conduct the world’s first clinical study on deer milk. The company also won the Best Dairy Ingredient award at the 2022 World Dairy Innovation Awards, reinforcing the product’s reputation as a highly differentiated dairy ingredient.