Nobody likes a price increase email. But if we’re going to ask you to pay a bit more for eggs and milkshakes, the least we can do is explain exactly why.
Let’s talk about eggs first 🍳
You might have seen the headlines: avian influenza is back, and this winter it’s hitting harder than ever. What started on the East coast has now spread to Northern Ireland and Wales, the regions that produce two-thirds of the UK’s free-range eggs.
DEFRA has issued mandatory housing orders across England, Northern Ireland, and Wales, which means chickens aren’t allowed outside. For farmers who’ve built their entire operations around free-range principles, this isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a crisis that affects their ability to maintain supply.
Over the next 2-3 months, our job is to keep eggs turning up on your doorstep, even when supply is tight. You might occasionally receive medium eggs instead of large (it depends on the breed and age of the flock), but the quality stays exactly the same. Our farmers are working incredibly hard under difficult circumstances, and we’re doing everything we can to support them.
Now, the milkshakes 🥛
This one’s less dramatic but no less real. 2024 and into 2025 has been tough on everyone in the supply chain: National Insurance contributions have gone up, the National Living Wage has increased, energy costs remain high, and climate change is wreaking havoc on ingredients like cocoa.
Our farmers and their growers are feeling the squeeze from every direction.
We’ve held our prices steady through all of this, but the numbers don’t add up anymore and we want to ensure this delicious product is viable for the future.
Quick note: You might be wondering if this is related to the sugar tax. It’s not. Milkshakes are exempt from that levy. This is purely about the increased costs our suppliers are facing to keep producing the quality you expect.
What isn’t changing
Your three-times-a-week deliveries. The independent British suppliers we’re proud to work with. Reusable glass bottles that keep waste out of landfills. The convenience of never having to remember milk on the shopping list.
And this: our commitment to being straight with you. You’re not just customers to us, you’re the reason small-scale British farming can survive and thrive. When costs go up, we think you deserve to know why, not just see a different number in your basket.
Any questions, please let us know
If you want to talk about this, we’re here. Write us some feedback with this form. We read everything.
Thanks for sticking with us and with the farmers who make all of this possible.
Modern Milkman team
