Frequently asked Questions

The short answer is Happy Cow Milk Co promotes a simple low-intensity pasture based farming system. That means when the right number of cows are grazed on pasture and the farmer doesn’t import lots of feed from off the farm.

It’s very hard for those cows to adversely affect the environment. Most environmental issues from cows occur when farmers put too many cows onto land—which is all too common.

For a more in-depth discussion on this please read this explainer

First off, there are no unwanted calves. All cows that supply Happy Cow Milk Co have their calves stay with them from birth up to about eight weeks of age. The calf drinks from its mother whenever it wants and we take the milk that is left. When the calf is around eight weeks of age its rumen is fully developed and it is able to eat just grass.

At this point, our calves are separated by putting them in a separate paddock. The cows and calves can still meet at the fence. Over the next five days or so the cows and calves simply stop visiting each other and go their separate ways.

Just as they would naturally. No crying and no heartache.

We’d like to gently say, in the nicest way possible, that we don’t think A2 protein cows are actually better for your stomach.

It’s been 20 years since the claim was made that A2 protein cows may be better for dairy-intolerant people. To date, after 20 years of extensive research undertaken around the globe, there is no conclusive evidence to support the claim that A2 milk is better for your stomach.

In fact, A2 milk companies’ own website states “Published research suggests that A2 Milk™ may help avoid stomach discomfort in some people.” That seems like a very vague statement to us.

You may say “But milk has always upset my stomach and we have been buying A2 milk from a local farmer and I can drink it with no discomfort.” We agree, our customers have been telling us the same thing since 2014 and we have never been A2.

We think that drinking milk that has been lightly processed is the real reason it doesn’t affect your stomach. Our theory is that modern standardisation process which deconstructs milk at the molecular level and then puts it back together again is affecting how some people can tolerate milk.

But that is just a hunch.

We work with both certified organic and non-organic farmers, but we won’t be marketing our milk as certified organic. We are firm believers in organic farming principles and we have farmed to the certified organic standards in the past.

You can be sure that there are no antibiotics or growth hormones in the milk. Our antibiotic treatment protocols are exactly the same as certified organic farmers. There are lots of on-farm practices that we think are important, such as our policy of calves staying with their mothers. This policy is not part of the organic standards and as far as we know, no organic farm is adopting a cow & calf policy.

We know you want some form of certainty, that the milk is being produced in a good way. And for many the certified organic label is the measure you use. We know how the sausage is made and we don’t think organic certification is the best way of determining good ethical milk.

We hope that over time you will see how we communicate and how open we are with our customers. We’d like to think that we can win over your trust. We find the attitude and philosophy of the farmer is a better indication of farming practices.

Our milk refillery is our packaging-free option. You can bring your own container to fill with milk, or you can buy one of our glass bottles (1 or 2 litres) available on-site. We clean our milk dispensers every day, and fresh milk is delivered every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You can purchase your milk at the counter along with your other groceries.

We have two convenient locations in Auckland: one at Simply Fresh in Northcote and a second at Woodlands Park Superette in Titirangi. For a full list of our locations, please visit here.

You don't have to collect your milk right away, but we would appreciate it if you could pick it up no later than the next day. Otherwise, we will deliver new milk, and your old order may get mixed up with the new milk.

Uncollected milk will incur charges and will be picked up from the shop after five days.

Our assumption is that people would only return empty bottles when picking up their latest order. As such, the collection point has no way to record the empties you return unless you have a milk order. If you need to return bottles when you don’t have any new orders, please email us.

When you collect your milk order, we assume you will return your empty bottles at the same time. If you are returning more bottles than you are picking up, the balance will held as a credit in your account. Please send us a quick email and we can manually refund the credit to you. Our developer is working on making this more streamlined.

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When you pick up your milk order, simply return your empty bottles to the shopkeeper. They will record how many bottles you returned in the Happy Cow Milk system, and your account will be automatically credited.

When you pick up your milk from the collection point, the shopkeeper will have a list of all current orders. You need to collect your milk from the fridge and then go to the counter. The shopkeeper will confirm your name, the amount of milk ordered, and how many empty bottles you returned, after which your card will be charged.

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After the introductory price, the milk is priced at $5.99 per bottle for subscriptions and $7.49 per bottle for one-time orders. Both prices are subject to bottle return.

We'll send you an email when your order is ready for collection.

Here are our approximate delivery times on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays:

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‍Panorama Dairy - Mt. Wellington:

6:30AM - 7:00AM

Kornaway Dairy - Ellerslie:

‍6:30AM - 7:00AM

The Village Dairy - Remuera:

‍7:30AM - 8:00AM

OM's Grocery Mart - Auckland Central:

8:30AM - 9:30AM

Richmond Road Superette - Ponsonby:

‍10:30AM -11:30AM

Stop n Save Superette - Mt. Eden:

11:00AM - 11:30AM

Parklands Fruit & Vege Shop - Balmoral:

11:00AM - 11:30AM‍

Jalaram Dairy - New Lynn:

‍12:00PM - 12:30PM

Scenic Dairy - Titirangi:

‍12:00PM - 12:30PM

Challen Dairy - Takanini:

1:30PM - 2:30PM

GO-CERY Minimart - Bombay:

‍2:00PM - 3:00PM

TK Auto & General Store - Te Kauwhata:

3:00PM - 4:00PM

Yes, we have a subscription option and a "one-off" purchase option. You can select your preferred method after creating your account.

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You can change your collection point at any time, and your return bottles will be logged from any location. Please ensure you make these changes at least one day before your delivery. Here’s how:

1. Sign in to your account, go to your order history and click on "Details".

2. At the bottom of the screen, click "Update."

3. Select "Collect From" to choose your new collection point.

If you need to change the amount of milk you receive in a given week, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to your account, head to your order history and click on "Details".

2. At the bottom of the screen, click "Update".

3. You can then adjust your order by selecting "Bottles of Milk" to increase or decrease the quantity.

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It would break our hearts to see you go, but if you really need to cancel your subscription. Here’s how:

1. Log in to your account, go to your order history, and click "Details" on the order you want to cancel.

2. At the bottom of the screen, click "Update."

3. Select the option to change your subscription status to "Cancelled."

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To pause your subscription while you're away, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to your account, go to your order history and click on "Details".

2. Click "Update" at the bottom of the screen.

3. Click on your subscription status and select "Pause".

When you're ready to receive milk again, change your subscription status back to "Active" at least one day before your next delivery.