Open Country opens butter plant
When American retail giant Cosco came to audit Open Country Dairy’s new butter plant at the Waharoa site and give the green light to supply their American stores, they allowed themselves a week for the exercise.
“I realised that there was a gap in the market. Our people have so much food and commodities, but they haven’t been commercialised,” Angi told Dairy News.
So the 23-year-old decided to start his own venture. His first choice – a Polynesian fruit drink – was shelved because setting up processing and packing lines would require substantial capital. The next option was flavoured milk.
“It’s an existing category and I wasn’t reinventing the wheel,” he says. “I thought that if I can make a dent in the flavoured milk market, with a Polynesian and Māori twist, then anything else I bring to market afterwards will be easier.”
Angi had pre-validated his ‘Milgy’ idea using social media, which helped convince an Auckland-based processor, who is also the raw milk supplier, to back him. An agreement with a third-party logistics company was also hammered out. At the same time, he had to win over Woolworths and get on to supermarket shelves.
Angi agrees that he picked a competitive category, but for him, it’s all about carving out a new sub-category for Pacific and Māori products. He says Milgy is just the beginning.
Today, Milgy chocolate milk is available across three popular food chains and 25 Woolworths stores. About 4000 bottles are sold monthly and a review is underway to see if they go nationwide. Two products are available under the Milgy brand: a 450ml bottle of Milgy chocolate milk and 1-litre white A2 milk.
He says Pacific and Māori people are happy to see their drink sitting next to products from big corporations.
Angi has big plans for Milgy and the parent company.
Plans include going global, extending into other categories and products like milk powder, which will allow him to export to the Pacific Islands and China.
Angi is no stranger to business. He attempted seven businesses before his Milgy venture.
“I started about seven businesses, my first one at 19. Most of them failed. But they were all lessons to me. And I applied those seven lessons to Milgy, which is why I was able to scale Milgy so quickly.
“At 19 I realised I wanted more in life. I’m not going to settle for less. I want to make sure my family is provided everything they want and that they get that better life they always wanted when they first came to New Zealand,” he says.
Angi hopes that as he progresses through his entrepreneurial journey, it’ll inspire future Pasifika and Māori entrepreneurs.
