THE fastest growing milkman in the country is hatching plans to expand from the central belt to the north east.
In little more than three months Julian Terriaca has racked up an impressive customer base – which is developing fast.
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The former pub landlord, 44, has gone from selling the hard stuff … to supplying the white stuff to, among others, a small army of toddlers attending nurseries.
His new enterprise – E M Dairies Ltd – is now attracting the attention of big operators and long-established market players.
And Justin, from Hamilton, Lanarkshire, the sole owner and shareholder, has already turned down a potentially lucrative offer to buy him out for a sum of £400,000 after securing an order book worth £5 million.
Not a bad start for a business which has only been operating for a mere four months!
He doesn’t deal with traditional doorstep delivery but instead focuses on the needs of businesses including small retail traders, coffee shops, cafes, garden centers, offices, factories and distilleries as well as the aforesaid nurseries.
Julian has rejected the takeover offer made to him and instead vowed to carry on growing and expanding EM – which stands for Everything Dairy.
And he now has his sights set on the areas around Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth as well as Inverness.
Julian said: “It was always the plan to steadily grow and expand operations away from the central belt where we have launched with such success.
“But we have been so encouraged by the take up there that we will probably accelerate the programme and bring our plans forward. It was always in the plan to grow.
While he ran pubs in London for 15 years he also has a strong background in the Scottish dairy trade, having worked for several of the country’s leading firms.
But he finally decided to establish his own enterprise earlier this year having identified a sector of the market which he felt had been neglected but offered potentially lucrative returns.
Operating seven days a week he’s already churning out deliveries totalling 80,000 litres a week.
In addition to all types of milk products – whole milk is the most popular with customers – the business delivers all types of cream as well as milk shakes.
He explained: “I’ve not done too badly as the new kid on the block.”
And he added: “The B2B sector has been somewhat neglected by the industry.
The overwhelming majority of companies do doorstep deliveries through the night. But I was aware from speaking to many customers in the areas that I have identified and targeted that they want a different kind of more bespoke service which fits their needs.
“They don’t want to arrive at their premises to open up and find a milk order has been lying outside through the night for possibly several hours.
“They want fresh deliveries, made to them during their normal opening times so they can make sure everything is tip top and in great condition when they welcome our people through their doors, direct from our chillers to their premises in refrigerated vans.
“I’ve proved already, this early, that the market is there and we’re just going to get busier and busier and busier.”
On his expansion proposals, Julian said: “We’ve had significant numbers of enquiries from other parts of the country from potential customers who like our model. Many have learned of our operation from their contacts in the central belt area.
“We are already scoping the area to try to identify possible bases from which we can best serve Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth plus Inverness.”
Julian spoke with numerous contacts and customers about his idea as his business plan was formulated and received high levels of support.
After finding premises, fitting it out with equipment, establishing a vehicle fleet and hiring staff he opened the doors for business.
He said: “On Day 1 we had 15 customers on the books and that’s grown quickly and quite dramatically. I’ve had to double capacity and things are developing at a much faster rate than I hoped at the outset.”
He’s secured strong financial support from an angel investor who’s been firmly behind the project since the outset, impressed by the determination of Julian to power the fledgling EM Dairies forward.
He’s also secured the services of two former colleagues from the dairy business,
Robert Brown, a highly regarded operations manager with 25 years in the dairy sector , and Callum Waugh, who has 15 years experience in the milk trade and who’s in control of the overall running of EM’s Bellshill, Lanarkshire, operation.
There are a total of 10 staff and seven vehicles now with further growth plans in the pipeline.
Julian said: “Key to the success is that the customers don’t want their supplies delivered to unmanned buildings in the middle of the night and left outside. We’re looking after the demands of these businesses and they’re acting as our biggest advertisers by spreading news about us through word of mouth.”
He added: “Other firms deliver through the night and then their vehicle fleets don’t turn a wheel during the day. Another benefit of operating while businesses are open is that our vehicles are seen out and about and it is a great form of free advertising as our name gets better known.”
Julian has also forged connections with an east coast fruit and veg wholesaler and he delivers their produce to west coast customers while in return EM’s dairy produce is distributed by them in the east.
The son of an Irish mum from Dublin and an Italian father, his Rome-born dad Nicola – known as Nicky in Lanarkshire where he operated the popular Rainbow Bar fish and chip shop in Airdrie for 21 years.
He said: “My parents had very high standards and my aim, like theirs, is to provide the best possible service in the sector – that’s our unique selling proposition.”
By way of putting something back into the community which looks after his business Julian is donating excess milk supplies to the local Salvation Army branch before its use by date expires.
