New Greek-style yoghurt from enterprising Banbridge farm couple James and Stephanie Martin

The yoghurt has been developed by enterprising couple James, a fourth generation farmer, and wife Stephanie Martin and is handcrafted without any added sugar, other additives or thickeners. The yoghurt is authentically strained by hanging in a cheese cloth bag.

Stephanie describes the Greek-styled yoghurt as “creamy, mild and velvety” and “not at all sharp or bitter”.

The milk is sourced from the farm’s dairy herd which is also sold directly to the public from a vending machine and in a farm shop opened by the couple in May 2021. The decision to sell fresh milk to the public proved a huge success and encouraged the development of yoghurt.

“We began looking into milk vending in 2020 and decided to buy processing equipment that would also enable us to make yoghurt as well,” explains Stephanie. “The success of the milk sales, however, delayed our plan for yoghurt production for several months,” she adds. The entrepreneurial farmers also produce ice cream and flavoured milk drinks.

The couple started putting fresh milk aside once a week for yoghurt production and began to experiment in 2022. “We weren’t quite sure how to make yoghurt,” continues Stephanie. “We pasteurised the milk, added culture and eventually got a yoghurt base to work with. Over a period of a year - and a lot of failures and tears - we created a yoghurt, taking guidance from many sources including the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise at Loughry.

“The process required great determination. I’ll never forget the morning – around 4.30am- and the sigh of relief and pure excitement when we achieved our own yoghurt,” adds Stephanie.

The new yoghurt then passed successfully essential safety and shelf-life tests, enabling Stephanie to start work on the packaging and branding for a successful public launch at local delis and markets.