With more than 100 years of history behind it, Riverina Fresh is one of Australia’s most respected dairy brands. Executive Chairman Craig Shapiro reflects on how the company continues to honour its legacy while embracing innovation and sustainability, and collaborating with coffee’s most creative baristas.
When Riverina Fresh was incorporated as a business in Wagga Wagga in 1922, coffee was nowhere near the cultural phenomenon it is today. Australia was a nation of tea drinkers, with coffee available but rarely consumed. Its fresh milk produced from the fertile pastures of the Riverina Region was a staple enjoyed by families across the region: poured over cereal, sipped from the glass, and stirred into tea.
More than a century later, Riverina Fresh remains deeply embedded in the local community, but is also very much aligned with the wider coffee industry. As one of Wagga Wagga’s largest employers, the company supports a network of farmers, distributors, and café owners.
Executive Chairman Craig Shapiro attributes the company’s longevity to its people-first approach.
“Riverina’s strength is that the business has always been about community,” he says. “From the very beginning when it was established as a co-op, it took a communal approach to business. Even now as a private company, the legacy of that setup remains strong – community is still the core of the brand.”
100 years and counting
In August 2025, this culture of community was exemplified when Malinda Manning celebrated 40 years of working at Riverina Fresh. To mark the milestone, a new company museum was named in her honour. Helping to curate the exhibition housed at the headquarters, Malinda says it’s still a work in progress but features lots of memories.
“Like history, it’s always changing so we’ll keep updating it with all the products and photos – it’s very exciting,” she says.
“I’m so proud to work for Riverina Fresh and to have all the memories and history. It all rolls around to the people, the support of the people, and being happy to come to work every day – which you don’t get in a lot of jobs.”
Over the years, Riverina Fresh has produced a wide range of products alongside milk – from cheese and yogurt to jelly and alcoholic drinks. However, Craig says the business has now condensed its catalogue to focus on producing the best quality fresh milk and dairy products.
“In terms of Australia’s entire dairy industry, we’re a niche manufacturer,” says Craig.
“We are not just focused on producing our high-quality milk but also being the leading supplier for cafés and those pairing it with coffee. We do this by very carefully choosing the farmers we work with, implementing significant quality testing at every stage, and ensuring the milk is processed within 24 hours so it’s in the bottle and on its way to our customers within 48 hours.”
According to Craig, the key to the best-tasting milk is having a herd of healthy cows and sustaining them with quality feed.
“We are in constant communication with our farmers about what they’re feeding their herds as it can have an impact on the flavour of the milk,” he says.
The coffee connection
This focus on flavour and quality has made Riverina Fresh milk a secret weapon among many of Australia’s competition baristas. In the early 2010s amid the rising popularity of specialty coffee, the company saw an opportunity to link with the country’s emerging café scene.
After working alongside specialty pioneers such as Paul Jackson of Danes Specialty Coffee, in 2015 the company collaborated with World Barista Champion and Ona Coffee Founder Sasa Sestic. Together, they created Riverina Fresh Gold, crafted to be paired with coffee.
“Gold has a high fat profile and was specifically designed to complement Ona Coffee’s Raspberry Candy blend, which was used in Sasa’s performance when he won the World Barista Championship in 2015,” says Craig. “It’s our gold-standard milk.”
Since then, Riverina Fresh has supported many barista champs, including 2022 World Barista Champion Anthony Douglas and Australian Barista Champions Jack Simpson and Hugh Kelly. In early 2025, it even flew its fresh milk to Dubai to be used by Aldy Nugroho, who went on to win the UAE National Barista Championship.
“The desired milk flavour profile a barista is looking for will depend on the roast of the beans. The milk is the support act, but given it’s often two-thirds of the cup it’s very important to get it right,” he says.
“All our milks have been developed to provide consistency, both in how they texture and the flavour they deliver.”
It’s not just the baristas battling it out on the international stage that are championing Riverina Fresh. Partnerships in the speciality sector have extended to the iced coffee market, including a collaboration with ST.ALi.
This collaborative approach and focus on attention to detail have made the milk brand a favourite among cafés and baristas right across New South Wales, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory. And that includes cafés in its own backyard.
In 2022, Rachel Fowler chose to partner with Riverina Fresh when she opened The Press in Wagga Wagga.
“A huge part of my business is supporting other local businesses. From my coffee roaster to my baker to my milk supplier, I wanted to showcase the incredible produce being crafted in the region,” says Rachel.
“Before I opened The Press I worked in marketing for more than a decade and what drew me to Riverina Fresh was the brand. It’s such a reputable brand that’s used in so many great cafés. Fortunately, the milk is fantastic too.
“The business is a part of the fabric of the local community. It’s so deeply rooted in the region and I chose to work with them because I wanted my brand to be associated with a great brand like theirs.”
Riverina Fresh has also developed its own food-service distribution business that now covers Sydney and Melbourne, in addition to the Riverina region. It predominantly services the café market and delivers its own fresh dairy products alongside 300 other products that are used by cafés daily.
Innovation with purpose
While the production of dairy is steeped in tradition and community, Riverina Fresh is embracing innovation in its quest to produce the highest quality product. A recent partnership with startup PPB Technology has seen the introduction of the Cybertongue, a device developed to test milk in real time for bacteria that can survive heat treatment.
“We’ve been collaborating with PPB Tech for a couple of years now and it’s been great to be part of the trial,” says Craig.
“The technology is hugely helpful as it saves having to send off samples to a lab to be tested. Instead, the device allows us to screen samples on site and in real time.”
This collaboration is just one of many modern efficiencies the dairy has implemented into its operations recently. Sustainability is another pillar of its strategy. In the past couple of years, the company has installed 1300 square metres of solar panels at its facility and introduced Internet of Things (IoT) technology to optimise older machinery.
“Instead of getting rid of old equipment, we’ve looked at ways of extending the life of existing machinery. By introducing IoT, we’ve been able to extract data from older machines and run the factory more efficiently,” says Craig.
“By running more efficiently we reduce our energy consumption and by upgrading older equipment we minimise waste disposal. Both outcomes have a positive sustainable benefit.”
The team also encourage their café partners to return empty plastic milk containers when new ones are delivered. Riverina then sends them to Kurrajong Recycling – a local business that supports disability employment – where the containers are crushed and recycled to close the loop on waste.
Evolving with the times
Adapting to the changing consumer landscape and embracing rather than shying away from innovation has been a pillar of the brand’s longevity. While the rise of plant-based alternatives and potential development of lab-based products have threatened to disrupt the dairy industry, Craig remains confident in the enduring value of traditional dairy milk.
“There will always be a place for dairy. However, like all things in business, if you don’t evolve you’ll get left behind,” he says. “One of the strengths of Riverina Fresh is that it has continued to evolve throughout its 103-year history. It has remained current and adapted to consumer demands.”
Its latest evolution is the introduction of new branding, which will be gradually rolled out in late 2025. It’s been more than a decade since the company last refreshed its look, but for Craig and team the time was right.
“How people perceive a company through its branding is very important – you need to evolve to stay current,” he says. “However, our logo is very recognisable and such a core part of our link to the Riverina Region.”
The new logo retains the iconic cow illustration but features updated colours, fonts, and a sharper design. The establishment date of 1922 has been added to reinforce the brand’s history.
“The new logo remains true to our heritage and represents the past 103 years. The new fonts and other additions represent the next 100 years of Riverina Fresh’s journey,” Craig says.
As Riverina Fresh enters its second century, its focus remains on supporting a sustainable dairy sector and advocating for fair treatment of farmers.
“Farming is a really tough industry. Milk is an essential ingredient in so many products, but often it’s still cheaper to buy than bottled water. We need to ensure our dairy farmers are rewarded more fairly for their work,” he says.
With many farms closing due to generational shifts and structural challenges, Riverina Fresh is committed to preserving the industry through innovation, community support, and a relentless pursuit of quality.
“What makes us unique is our connection to the coffee industry,” says Craig.
“There aren’t many dairies in the world focused on delivering milk specifically for coffee. That’s our niche – and we’re proud of it.”
For more information, visit riverinafresh.com.au
This article appears in the October 2025 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
