The launch of premium sheep and goat’s milk formula developed in Southland could not have come at a better time for Blue River Dairy’s sister company.
South Island Dairy had always intended to launch its new Sheeprise sheep and Gogo goat milk formulas in March and the availability comes as the country prepares to move to Covid-19 alert level 4.
Additionally, the company brought forward the launch of its Tumtum cow milk formulas, made using Southland cow milk, after hearing about people struggling to find formula locally.
The formula is now available online and in selected pharmacies.
Marketing manager Gareth Lyness said it was important for the company to help those needing formula at this time.
General manager Robert Boekhout said the Sheeprise sheep milk formulation was the first infant and toddler formulation that used exclusively sheep dairy ingredients available on the New Zealand market.
He believed it was the only pure sheep dairy formulation in the world.
Together with partners in Europe, South Island Dairy’s sheep formulations were developed using only milk solids, including whey and lactose, purified from sheep, something that was previously unachievable, Boekhout said.
“We believe in providing choice, not promoting one species over another.”
The company’s focus was using premium ingredients, whether in cow, sheep or goat formulas, he said.
The Sheeprise brands will be produced at the recently completed South Island Dairy plant in Invercargill.
Boekhout said they had been working closely with nutritionists to ensure information about the new formulas was fully transparent for consumers looking for quality nutrition for their families.
The company as also made sure the product is completely traceable, with all its sheep formula ingredients mainly sourced from another sister company Alimenta, on the island of Sardinia in Italy.
The formula is available at Life Pharmacy Gore, Unichem Southcity, Windsor Pharmacy, Glengarry Pharmacy and Unichem Riverton., and on the South Island Dairy website.
