HEALTH might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of milkshakes.

However, nutrition is Shaken Udder’s unique selling point. They are calcium rich, low sugar and free from artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.

Their healthy edge has made them popular in Essex schools and given owners Jodie and Andrew Farran a 111 per cent sales increase in the process.

Jodie, 35, and Andrew, 37, from Tiptree, met at agricultural university in 2003 and when they graduated they decided they wanted to start their own business.

The Maldon-based business was launched in 2004 and they started out selling them at festivals.

Jodie says: “I’m addicted to milk, but I couldn’t get a good milkshake when I was away at events. Andrew, aka Howie, my business partner, and I saw a unique opportunity and decided to start up an events-based brand from our farmhouse kitchen! We hit the road, travelling up and down the country making fresh, tasty milkshakes for thirsty festival goers.

“We quickly built up a loyal band of Shaken Udder fans who started asking where they could get our milkshakes outside of festivals.”

Jodie’s husband Andrew grew up on a farm and from a young age he helped out with the work and running of the farm. After graduating, he knew that although farming was in his blood he wanted to take his love for British produce and the countryside to a different level. Jodie worked from a young age helping her dad in the businesses he started up, from shoe shops to cosmetic companies.

Initially the pair took a look at the retail shelves to assess the competition and were disappointed with what they found.

“Marvellous milk was being ruined with ingredients like modified maize starch, butter milk powders, e-numbers, artificial flavours and, what’s more, they tasted like plastic fruit glue,” says Jodie. “We decided milk deserved better.”

They started to play around with flavours at home.

“We experimented with loads of different flavour combinations using our blender. We originally had 100 different milkshake recipes for festivals,” says Jodie.

The milkshakes completely natural, use real fruit or chocolate, and British milk.

“We want Shaken Udder to be a part of people’s daily dairy intake, benefiting from the nutritional benefits associated with drinking milk. Our milkshakes give purchasers another reason to consume dairy in a really delicious way.”

Did it take a long time to get the business up and running?

“The festival side got going pretty quickly, but the road to launching a bottled milkshake whilst still getting the quality we wanted was quite a challenge. It wasn’t until 2008 that we launched our bottles.”

With Government guidelines continually asking manufacturers to lower sugar levels for children’s products, Shaken Udder’s range, which includes school approved flavours with less than five per cent added sugar, are proving hugely popular.

“This is becoming a huge part of our business,” explains Jodie.

“Some schools are taking in excess of 100 cases a week, about 600 bottles. The feedback we’re getting is that students like the fact they are wholesome and healthy, but they are also a bit grown up.

“I think the success is also due to all the new legislation about sugar. Shaken Udder is more interesting than a bottle of juice or water, plus it gives students a more substantial snack, not just a thirst-quencher.”

It is now stocked in a number of high schools, and universities and colleges have started to stock their product throughout Essex.

The team is small but growing. They have eight full time staff and up to 30 staff in the summer, when they are busy making the milkshakes at festivals around the UK.

They have their sights on getting the product into more UK food-to-go outlets and more educational institutions. Are there any new flavours in the pipeline?

“We have lots of exciting top secret developments in the pipeline, and we love listening to customers’ ideas. We’re about to launch a Facebook poll to see what our customers want next, as we’re always thinking of the next new thing and this allows us to meet customer demand.

“We’ve just launched our Uber Udder 1-litre cartons in Vanillalicious and Chocolush. This stemmed from our customers repeatedly requesting our milkshakes in a larger size, for home consumption." 

Shaken Udder shakes are available in four flavours: Top Banana, Chocolush, Vanillalicious and Salted Caramel and retail at £1.49 for a 330ml bottle and £1.89 per 200ml carton triple pack.

  • Shaken Udder milkshakes are available from Tesco, Waitrose and Ocado. For details, visit shakenudder.com.