Peter Cullinane self-funded early product development; later growth was financed by revenue and small capital raises.

Shoppers who bought the company’s premium butter were initial customers; the 2014 launch of chocolate milk caused nationwide queues.

Startup Rollercoaster

The Spark

Advertising executive Peter Cullinane wanted a butter that matched European quality. Unable to find one locally, he started making butter at home and decided to commercialise it.

The Peak

Lewis Road Creamery launched butter and later chocolate milk in collaboration with Whittaker’s. The first 1,000-litre batch of chocolate milk sold out instantly, and demand ballooned to 40,000 litres per week.

The Drop

The unexpected demand created supply shortages and frustration among consumers. Criticism arose about creating artificial scarcity.

The Reset

Lewis Road invested in production capacity and worked with retailers to manage expectations. The company introduced other products such as ice cream and yoghurt to diversify revenue.

The Discipline

Cullinane focused on storytelling, premium packaging and social media engagement. Quality remained paramount to justify higher prices.

The Climb

Lewis Road Creamery expanded internationally, launching grass-fed butter in Australia in late 2019 (nationally in Woolworths) and entering the United States in 2020 with a Whole Foods Market rollout across 271 stores. The US deal was reported to be worth up to US$5 million in its first year, with plans to export around 400 metric tonnes of butter in 2020 as supply scaled.

Read more

• https://www.odt.co.nz/rural-life/dairy/lewis-road-pens-multimillion-dollar-deal-us-giant
• https://www.nzstory.govt.nz/about-us/news/lewis-road-creamery
• https://lewisroadcreamery.co.nz/blogs/media/new-variety-coming-this-december
• https://www.champions-trophy.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CT-Case-3-Lewis-Road-Creamery_compressed.pdf

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