Camel milk bid wins praise from supermarket giant Aldi
CARRY on milking camels.
That’s the plan for Christmas and beyond for Daisy Smith, aged 24, who pitched for her camel milk products to be stocked in Aldi stores nationwide.
So far Daisy hasn’t heard back from the supermarket chain after appearing on the new Channel 4 series Aldi’s Next Big Thing last Thursday with her mother Rebecca Fossett who beat hundreds of hopefuls to appear on the show and possibly win a life changing contract to stock the supermarket across the country.
Daisy and her mother claim the alternative to cow’s milk has lots of “medicinal benefits” and “tastes delicious” and while it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, she told the Herald their television experience worked wonders for her business.
“A lot of people saw the programme and are now talking about camel milk but we’ve not heard anything from Aldi just yet. We went into the programme knowing we might not get the Aldi contract but we wanted to publicise camel milk and we’ve made a huge contact for life in Aldi. Our presentation went very well and we kind of winged it. The managing director of Buying at Aldi, Julie Ashfield, said she thought there was a market for our product and that was a great boost to our confidence,” said Daisy.
The family set up Daisy’s Dromedairy - the UK’s only camel dairy farm - in 2021. She pioneered the idea for her camel dairy farm having grown up on a Camel Experience Farm in Idlicote, Warwickshire, owned by her parents, ex-lion tamers, Joseph and Rebecca.
Daisy said: “When we first started the dairy farm everyone thought we were absolutely raving mad. I certainly never thought I’d be milking a camel. I’ve never even milked a cow.
“While the taste of camel milk is not so different to cow’s milk, it has long been drunk in the Middle East, where it is known for its abundance of vitamins, nutrients, and minerals. It is even said Cleopatra used it as a beauty treatment for her skin.”
While she waits to hear if her camel milk has made it on to the supermarket shelves the milking must carry on because there’s camel milk soap and camel milk chocolates to be made in time for Christmas which is one of the busiest seasons for her business where camels make guest appearances at several nativity plays up and down the country.
