Graham’s The Family Dairy: Scottish milk giant takes £2 million hit to help cash-strapped consumers
“As a business, we made the decision not to pass all of these increased costs onto our customers but instead to absorb what was feasible” – Robert Graham, MD
Graham’s The Family Dairy has taken a profit hit to help shield cash-strapped consumers from inflationary pressures.
Robert Graham, managing director of the Stirlingshire dairy business, noted that during the past year, farm gate milk price increased from 36p per litre to 40p per litre while the group also saw increases “across the board”, including packaging hikes and a rise in the national living wage.
“As a business, we made the decision not to pass all of these increased costs onto our customers but instead to absorb what was feasible, with the intention of easing any price increases to the end customer,” he added. “This is reflected in a decreased net profit whilst remaining a profitable business, and we are already seeing strong targeted growth in the year ahead.”
His comments came as the family-owned firm reported turnover of £154.9 million for its financial year ending March 2025. That is higher than the £153.1m generated in the previous 12-month period. However, pre-tax operating profit fell to some £2.6m from £4.5m a year earlier.
The firm said it continued with its capital investment programme, with £3.2m being reinvested in modernisation, particularly in manufacturing sites in Nairn and Cowdenbeath. This is on top of capital investment of £5m last year and £8.4m in 2023.
Graham added: “We saw the largest increase in demand for both our Jersey and organic milk ranges that we have ever seen, which allowed us to recruit new Jersey farmers into our growing milk field.
“We’ve also continued to work hard to satisfy consumer demand for high protein products, with the launch of our first protein ice cream range and the expansion of our cottage cheese production facility. This has helped us to secure new distribution deals in premium stores such as Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Booths, to name just a few.”
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The firm said it had proved adept at spotting consumer trends and moving quickly to respond. Demand for cottage cheese increased as a result of trending recipes on social media. Meanwhile Graham’s 85-year-old father, also called Robert, has helped the brand develop a loyal social media fan base through his own TikTok channel.
Most recently, the family business was named Scottish Dairy Farm of the Year at the AgriScot 2025 awards in October, in recognition for its approach to employing cutting-edge tech across the farm as well the treatment of its herd of cows. The awards recognise the country’s leading dairy farms for excellence in animal welfare, innovation, sustainability and farm management.
The third-generation family business was founded in 1939 in Bridge of Allan, where Robert Graham reared a dozen cows, milked them by hand, then made all deliveries by horse and cart.
Graham’s The Family Dairy has grown through those three generations and today 70 per cent of households in Scotland and 30 per cent of the UK’s households are said to buy the company’s products, which include milk, butter, ice cream, cottage cheese and yogurts.
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