Rachel's Organic facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Organic Dairy products |
| Founder | Rachel and Gareth Rowlands |
| Headquarters |
Glanyrafon, Aberystwyth
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Area served
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United Kingdom |
| Products | yogurt, milk, rice pudding, cream, crème fraiche |
| Owner | BSA International SA |
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Number of employees
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121 |
| Parent | Lactalis |
Rachel's is a company from Wales that makes organic dairy products. It is based in Aberystwyth. This company was started by local farmers. It became the United Kingdom's first ever certified organic dairy. Today, Rachel's is part of a French company called Lactalis.
Contents
The Farm's Organic Roots
The story of Rachel's began in 1942. That's when the Williams family took over Brynllys farm in Ceredigion, West Wales. They started raising a special group of Guernsey cows.
Dinah Williams was a key person in the family. Her mother was the first dairy instructor at Aberystwyth University. Dinah herself worked to convince farmers not to use artificial fertilisers and pesticides. This led to the creation of the Soil Association, a group that supports organic farming.
Because of this, Brynllys farm became one of the first farms to join the Soil Association in 1952. This made it the first certified organic dairy farm in the UK. In 1966, Dinah handed the farm over to her daughter Rachel and her husband Gareth Rowlands. They continued to supply high-quality organic milk.
The farm even inspired a story on The Archers, a popular BBC Radio 4 show. In 2009, a book was published about the three generations of the family at Brynllys farm.
How Rachel's Company Started
The company Rachel's was created because the farmers needed to find new ways to use their milk. In 1982, heavy snow hit Aberystwyth. This meant milk tankers couldn't reach the isolated farm.
So, the Rowlands family had to find other uses for their milk. They used an old butter churn to make cream and butter by hand. After the snow cleared, they realized people really liked their homemade dairy products. This encouraged them to make more.
Rachel started looking for old recipes, including how to make yogurt. In 1984, the Rachel’s Dairy brand was officially born as a company. The company's production stayed on Brynllys farm for a while. But between 1985 and 1990, the company grew a lot. This led to a new, special dairy building being built in Glanyrafon, Aberystwyth.
Rachel's Today
In 1999, a United States dairy company called Horizon Organic bought Rachel's for £1.5 million. Later, in 2004, Horizon was bought by Dean Foods, a large dairy company from the USA.
In 2009, the company changed its name from "Rachel's Organic" to just "Rachel's." However, all their products still remained organic. They make milk, butter, rice pudding, cream, crème fraiche, and many kinds of yogurts. In 2019, the name went back to Rachel's Organic.
In 2010, Rachel's became part of BSA International SA, a company from Belgium. This company is connected to the French company Lactalis Groupe. Since then, Rachel's has moved the production of its rice-based desserts to France.
In 2012, Rachel's became part of Lactalis Nestlé Chilled Dairy (LNCD). This is a joint company between Lactalis and Nestlé.
Awards and Recognition
Rachel’s has won many awards for its great products and new ideas. These include Great Taste awards and Wales the True Taste awards.
- In 2007, Rachel’s was named one of Britain’s most environmentally friendly brands.
- In 2009, it was given "Coolbrand" status in the UK.
- In July 2010, Rachel's won eight awards at the Royal Welsh Show for its dairy products.
- Rachel's also received a Gold award at the Wales the True Taste Food & Drink Awards 2010 for their Wholemilk Gooseberry Yogurt.
Products You Can Find
- Yogurt
- Milk
- Rice pudding (made in France)
- Cream
- Crème fraiche
See also
