21/04/2026
Our good friends Annie Chesworth and Jason Chesworth of Hunter Belle Dairy Co. Have really summed up perfectly the position many small dairy production family businesses are feeling right now. Please consider all your dairy purchases, as everytime you choose Australian and local you are supporting Australian communities.
An open Letter to our customers...
From Annie & Jason Chesworth, Hunter Belle Dairy Co.
To our wonderful Hunter Belle customers,
We’ve always believed in being open with you… the ones who choose and support us, and keep our family business going. So we want to speak honestly about something you may have already noticed… our milk prices have gone up.
The biggest driver? Our plastic milk bottles increased by 22% overnight. That’s not a slow increase. That’s not something we can plan for, it’s not something we can avoid. This kind of jump hit us immediately, and hard. Like everyone else, we’re also seeing rising costs across the board - fuel, packaging, gloves, everyday supplies. It all adds up. And while we’ve absorbed as much as we can, this one we simply couldn’t carry alone.
We get it, we’re not immune to the cost of living - we’re right in it with you. We’re a family of five. We do the same supermarket shops you do. We feel that moment at the checkout just the same. And despite what some might think we’re not sitting back rolling in money from milk and cheese sales 😉 . This is small business. Everything we make goes straight back into this business:
- Into our cows
- Into feed (and yes… we really do need rain)
- Into keeping machinery running
- Into supplies
- Into supporting our staff, both on the farm and in the factory
Upgrades? Not right now. Needed? Yes. But we’re in a season of holding steady and getting through.
This business isn’t just what we do - it’s how we live.
You know us. Or at least, we hope you do.
We’re not sitting in offices removed from it all - our feet are on the ground, at the farm and in the factory. Hunter Belle is our priority, even when that means our personal lives and relationships take a back seat. Our kids have grown up being dragged along for the ride - early mornings, long days, and everything in between. This is real life for us.
We also understand something important: We get that you need to make changes too.
If that means adjusting what you buy, we completely get it. Truly. But if you can, we ask you to stick with us in whatever way feels manageable:
- Maybe you keep choosing our milk for your coffees or milkshakes
- Maybe you save it for weekends or a treat
- Maybe you swap elsewhere, but still keep a little bit of us in your fridge
Because the reality is - bigger companies can absorb and dilute these costs in ways we simply can’t.
Choosing us means choosing a family, a team, and a local community. Choosing us means we will still be here at the end of this chaos.
Every bottle supports:
💛 our staff
💛 our farm
💛 our region
💛 and the future of what we’re building here
And we don’t take that lightly.
We also want to make you a promise: The moment we see costs come down - we will pass that straight back to you. No hesitation. Our retails are on board and committed to this too.
🩷 As a reminder of why we do what we do - and why our milk tastes the way it does (very bloody good):
- We have beautiful Brown Swiss cows, known for their rich, creamy, high protein milk
- We have low travel miles, just 10kms from farm to factory
- We focus on quality over quantity, pasteurised and nothing else - cream on top!
- We’ve been lucky enough to receive champion awards and gold medals across our whole range
- And we never cut corners because that’s not who we are
We’ve chosen this life - and we’ve chosen you. If you can, please keep choosing us. (Am I sounding like Meredith Grey yet?)
We know times are tough. They are for us too. But we’re still here. Still showing up. Still doing the work. And we’re incredibly grateful to have you alongside us (if you’ve read this far thank you for this amazing support, let us know you’re here by posting your favourite emoji in the comments)🥰.
We are open to discussions if anyone would like to chat further.
With appreciation, honesty, a few tears along the way and a whole lot of heart,
Annie & Jason Chesworth
