A Supplier Spotlight - Kaipaki Dairies

A time to shine the spotlight on one of our key suppliers: Kaipaki Dairies!

We use Kaipaki Dairies milk in all of our dairy gelato flavours. The milk all comes from a beautiful 200-hectare block - the Bardoul family farm - in the heart of Waikato.

The milk arrives to us in 10L pails. The pails are then returned to the farm for sterilisation and re-use. No waste! Recycling is good, but reuse is better.

We sat down with the team to learn more about their journey and to chat sustainability!

Tell me a little bit about Kaipaki Dairies’ journey?

It started with a pretty simple idea. Bringing real milk to people using packaging that could actually be reused, not just thrown away or recycled once.

In the early days, glass bottles of milk were sold at local farmers’ markets.

Today, everything operates from the Bardoul family farm in Ōhaupō, right in the heart of Waikato. Paul and Sue Bardoul have farmed the 200-hectare property for more than 30 years and milk around 600 cows.

What makes Kaipaki Dairies different is that the whole operation happens right here on the farm. The cows are milked here, the milk is pasteurised here, bottled here, and then delivered from here to cafés, businesses, and stores across Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and Auckland.

When we deliver, we also pick up the empty bottles and pails. They come back to the factory, where they’re washed, sterilised, and used again. Nothing complicated or flashy. But a real circular system.

Since the early market days, we’ve been able to grow our delivery network across the upper North Island while still staying focused on quality and sustainability.

What’s been the most challenging thing about your business journey so far?

Honestly, there’s always something challenging going on with a small business. Some days it’s logistics, some days it’s production, some days it’s growth and trying to keep up with demand.

But alongside that, there are some pretty rewarding moments too. Like just this Monday, we were runner-up for the ‘Best Local Hospitality Product’ at the NZ Hospitality Awards. These little moments are always great to celebrate as a team.

For us, the most important thing is continuing to produce a really good product while also trying to genuinely reduce environmental impact. We believe in what we’re doing, and that’s what keeps us moving forward even when things get busy or complicated.

Are there any myths you’d like to debunk around sustainability?

There are a lot of conversations around sustainability, and everyone has a different view on it.

For us, the thinking is pretty straightforward. Reuse makes more sense than constantly producing new packaging, even if that packaging can be recycled.

That doesn’t mean we’re against recycling at all. Recycling absolutely has its place. But our model is built around reuse rather than single-use packaging.

We know not every plastic bottle ends up in a landfill, because many do get recycled, but we want to be part of reducing the need for single-use packaging in the first place.

How many plastic bottles have you saved so far?

Between 1 December 2024 and 1 December 2025, Kaipaki Dairies supplied around 792,000 litres of milk through reusable glass bottles and pails. That’s the equivalent of roughly 396,000 two-litre plastic milk bottles over 12 months.

At the moment, we’re delivering about 15,500 litres of milk every week, and we’d definitely love to keep growing that.

So far, Kaipaki Dairies has helped prevent more than two million single-use milk bottles from needing to be produced through our reusable bottle and pail system.

Looking ahead, what’s next for Kaipaki Dairies?

There are always a few ideas floating around in the background.

But the main focus is still pretty simple. We want to keep producing a great product, keep growing sustainably, and make sure more people know about what we’re doing.

At the end of the day, we’re passionate about creating something people genuinely value while continuing to make a positive impact through reusable packaging and local delivery.

What’s your favourite gelato or ice cream flavour?

Mint choc chip. Easy.