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Joe Towers

"Harper graduate and rural entrepreneur Joe Towers developed the UK’s first barista milk and breathed new life into his family’s farm."

Over 20,000 UK dairy farms have closed in the last 20 years. In 2015, over 700 new coffee shops opened, with a turnover of £7.9 billion. Agri-food Marketing with Business graduate Joe Towers responded by introducing a new type of milk for baristas that’s given a new lease of life to his family’s dairy farm.

Working with a London-based barista, Joe discovered a new market for the right type of milk to compliment speciality coffee. He introduced a new herd of Jersey cows to the family farm and the result was a milk with more protein and fat that worked perfectly for baristas.

With his family’s help (including brother and fellow Harper Adams graduate, Edward, who runs the farm) Joe created a new brand for the milk. The Towers now sell more than 20,000 litres a week to coffee shops across London via their partner, Allan Reeder, under the brand Brades Farm Barista Milk. The family is also working with researchers to see how the diets of their Jersey cows affect the taste and quality of their new milk.

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