26 | Westland Milk Products Taste test puts Westgold butter on top Mixing only grass-fed fresh cream and salt gives Westgold butter its distinctive texture. “We want the world to know and help them share in the magic of grass-fed butter from the magical West Coast of New Zealand...” REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Westgold butter has come out on top of all butters sold in supermarkets after a blind tasting test conducted by Consumer New Zealand. A taste panel by Consumer New Zealand thought Westgold butter was complex, delicious and, most importantly, buttery. Some of their comments are worth their weight in gold. “More complex than others, in a good way,” said one. “Yes, just yes. Yellowy, buttery goodness,” said another, and: “Rich, salty and decadent. Hell yeah.” Westland Milk Products CEO Alex Turnbull says the results confirm one of Westland’s best kept secrets. “Given our location and the knowledge and skills of our butter team, we know we have a lot going for us, but this result still fills us with pride,” he says. “And we want the world to know and help them share in the magic of grass-fed butter from the magical West Coast of New Zealand.” He says the simplicity of mixing only grassfed fresh cream and salt gives Westgold butter a distinctive texture, while Westgold’s distinctive gold colour is a result of the “more than 97 per cent grass-fed diet of our West Coast dairy cows cherished and looked after by our partner farmers”. A centuries-old churning method built into the butter plant Westland commissioned in 2022 at Hokitika on the West Coast is used to process cream into butter. “This is a slower processing method that results in a higher-quality product.” But, Alex says perhaps the most important ingredient to making butter as good as Westland does is the time spent perfecting the craft involved in making butter. Staff in the butter team have spent an average of 20,000 hours (or 10 years) producing butter. Cream Senior Production Manager, Dean Robinson, has celebrated more than 30 years of service. “Our butter team has more accumulated knowledge than any other team at Westland and, potentially, more knowledge than any other butter producers in the country,” Dean says. “After making butter for so many years, everyone working in the factory has the eye for it and just knows when it is right. “Our butter churners all have their own characteristics. Our staff have been able to use the instinct that comes from extensive experience.” 03 684 9100 www.coolpak.co.nz “Coolpak Coolstores Ltd are Proud to Support Westland Milk Products Ltd” Cold Chain Storage Solutions & Service, With You In Mind. New employees are trained by those who have the most experience to make sure that everyone gets the benefit of the team’s knowledge. This all drives the taste of Westgold Butter as more people around the world — and at home — are discovering. Sales of Westgold butter are booming and have grown around 40 per cent over the past four years in New Zealand.
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