Success Story
A family-run raw milk micro dairy in Cornwall has received a boost thanks to the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme, via Business Support Partner Business Enterprise Fund. Started by husband-and-wife Matt and Tessie Horton, the business specialises in delivering fresh, unpasteurised milk straight to the doorstep.
| Region/Nation | South West |
|---|---|
| Sector | Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing |
| Programme | Start Up Loans |
| Partner |
Last year, Matt and Tessie were looking for a new way of living so they could spend more time with their three children and have more control over their lives.
Both born and bred in Cornwall, they have a background in farming with Matt working on dairy farms and Tessie’s parents holding a small farm.
After working across several farms in the area Matt wanted to change the way dairy farming was approached, to do things in a more sustainable way.
The idea started to take shape and Proper Cornish Milk was born in November 2023, located in Bude. The finance totalling £27k across four separate loans was used to build a processing room and buy equipment including bottling machines and fridges. The duo also used the money to buy their herd of six cows – Daisy, Poppy, Karen, Odette, Petal and Dixy.
The money from the British Business Bank was really important for helping with our start up costs but also with solidifying our business plan. As a business they farm their cows as ethically as possible, with their welfare and happiness top priority. What this means is that we let the cows roam the fields and spend the majority of their lives outdoors, we keep the calves with their mothers until they are naturally ready to wean, and we implement regenerative farming practices. - Matt Horton Co-owner, Proper Cornish Milk
Their farming is based on older methods, combined with modern knowledge, to produce milk that is packed full of goodness and safe enough that it does not require treatments like pasteurising and homogenising.
Tessie and I cover every element of the business, from milking, to bottling and delivering. The pair take it in turns to cover the 60-mile delivery round every Monday, Wednesday and Friday around Bude – juggling deliveries with the school run. We’ve been really grateful at how many people now buy their milk from us. In under a year we’ve built up one hundred regular customers and had to double the number of cows we keep. - Matt and Tessie Horton Co-owners, Proper Cornish Milk Co-owners, Proper Cornish Milk
For Matt and Tessie, the goal is to continue to keep the business community focused and local. “For both of us, the business offers us flexibility to spend time with our three children, all of whom are under six years old. We want a different way of life, and don’t want to be tied down by the demands of a traditional job.
“That said, we do want to continue to improve the business and our aim is to get to net zero. We are looking into getting an electric vehicle and installing solar panels on the farm to charge it.” The duo is also hoping to purchase a few more cows this summer to keep up with customer demand.
Proper Cornish Milk is a business that epitomises what Start Up Loans exists for as it is a family business outside London and the South East that is looking to operate sustainably. It’s great to see Matt and Tessie take their farming experience and use that to set up their own business and we wish them all the best in the future. - Richard Bearman Managing Director of Small Business Lending, British Business Bank
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