e x c l u s i v e Savoury Yoghurt a Taste of Difference Retro Organics is a company with a difference. Owned by Robin and Lois Greer of Tuturau near Mataura in Southland, the company has for some time been at the forefront of the processing and marketing of organic dairy produce. If you’re over the taste of your usual yoghurt flavour, don’t despair. Retro Organics has just the answer for you…a newly launched range of savoury yoghurts that are the first of their kind available in the New Zealand marketplace. With three flavours - tomato and basil, carrot and ginger, and beetroot and cardamom – the yoghurts are being touted as the perfect solution for consumers wanting healthy, more natural and less processed foods. In fact, the Greers have spent considerable time developing the specialised products, which can be eaten from the pottle or used in smoothies, baking and cooking. “Being the first in New Zealand is a real bonus,” Robin says. “We think it’s definitely something a bit different and there are lots of purposes for it. Some children actually like it, but we’ve noticed children today have different taste buds.” Whilst savoury yoghurt has been produced and sold overseas for a number of years, up until now it has not been available in New Zealand. “We wanted to give Kiwis the opportunity to experience yoghurt with a difference,” says Robin. “There is already an abundance of sweet yoghurts on offer, but for those with a savoury tooth, this is going to be right up their alley.” Like the other boutique organic dairy products produced and marketed by Retro Organics, 20 www.foodtechnology.co.nz By Peter Owens the savoury yoghurt was developed by the Greers in the company’s licensed kitchen on the farm before being refined and processed at the company’s production plant nearby. Retro Organics produces a range of boutique dairy products that revisit the ‘good old days’ of natural food. The company’s yoghurt is produced with pasteurised whole milk from the farm’s herd of exclusively grass-fed Jersey cows and processed by hand in the farm factory. The company prides itself on its ethical and sustainable organic farming practices. “Having the factory on the farm where the yoghurt is produced enables us to be able to process it within a short time of the milk being produced. It also enables us to guarantee where the milk comes from,” says Robin. “For us it is all about providing transparency in our process to deliver products that are ‘honest to nature’s goodness’.” The couple believe modern society is seeing a trend towards trying different food groups, cooking methods and healthy alternatives, with the Millennial/Gen Y generation dubbed the ‘foodie generation’. They engage and connect with their food; whether it’s going to a new gourmet restaurant, seeking out information on ingredients or trying different cultural cuisines. Millennials are also a generation more concerned with healthy foods and where ingredients come from, Robin says. Alongside the health benefits of savoury yoghurt being organic, lactose free and with no added sugar, the multi-use of it adds to its appeal. This runs from standard spoon-to-mouth consumption through to a salad dressing, dip, spread or additive to sauces and curries. The Greers moved towards organic dairy farming on their Tuturau property in 1998 before making cheese in a purpose-built factory on the property. Both of them milked in the Waikato before moving to Southland more than 20 years ago. They were attracted to organic processes after being concerned about conventional farming systems, the chemicals and the effect they were having on peoples’ health. Both had lost parents at a young age, and believed diet was linked to both deaths. Robin says they arrived at organic almost by a process of elimination. Bio-Gro-certified in 2010, the organic farm places strong emphasis on animal health. The Greers researched both here and in Australia for three years before starting to build, and support has been strong ever since. Other yoghurt-makers wished they’d built larger factories, and the Greers decided not to make the same mistake, even though it will be some time before they are up to full capacity. Their products include camembert, brie, feta, holoumi, farmhouse-style cheddars and flavoured cheddars, all handcrafted at home in the factory. Customers can trace back to exactly where their milk came from, even to the exact paddock. The Retro Organics Savoury Yoghurt range is available in 500g pottles from New World and Pak‘n’Save supermarkets, and organic stores. www.retroorganics.co.nz. LUCKY SUBSCRIBER James Hall from James Crisp Ltd will receive a three-pack of the range to try for himself. NEW PRODUCT
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