Challenge Australian Dairy

Challenge Australian Dairy’s roots go back very early in Western Australia’s history when the original Capel Dairy, one of Western Australia’s first industries, was established in 1920 in the lush Capel River Valley. Today this historic site is home to our modern dairy manufacturing plant.

Challenge Australian Dairy is on the major tourist route to the popular Margaret River wine region, an area recognized both nationally and internationally for it’s pristine ‘clean and green’ farming environment that yields fresh produce in abundance. The region is also in the vicinity of Cape Leeuwin, named after the Dutch galleon ‘Leeuwin’ which charted part of the south west coastline of Western Australia in 1622, and whose name is the inspiration for Challenge Australian Dairy’s popular Dutch-style farmhouse cheese.

Challenge Australian Dairy is a joint venture partner with Challenge Dairy Co-operative - a totally Western Australian farmer- owned entity that was created in 2001. The Co-operative has a current farmer membership of around 50 per cent of the state’s dairy farmers who are based in the South West of WA in a region stretching from south of Perth to Northcliffe. The majority of farmers however, are concentrated in the Busselton, Cowaramup and Margaret River areas.

Fresh milk is collected daily from the cooperative members’ farms and delivered back to Challenge Australian Dairy. Traditional processes are then used to create the “Capel” brand of dairy products that take pride of place in the dairy section of Coles, Woolworths , IGA and Foodworks supermarkets as well as other major retailers. The range includes a variety of styles and flavours of cheese, mouth-watering fruit-flavoured yoghurts, milk and traditional butter. Other products including skim milk and whey powders, are also exported throughout Asia and other countries around the world.

An integrated quality and accredited food safety system is the strength of Challenge Dairy's manufacturing process and ensures the supply of consistent high quality products to all its markets. In addition, the South West region of Western Australia where our farmers are located, is relatively isolated, helping to ensure that our dairy cows are disease free. This is a factor that is highly regarded by statutory bodies like the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and Food, as well as being a distinct advantage in terms of international marketing.

The Challenge Australian Dairy plant currently employs around 80 people who are highly experienced in their field of dairy product manufacturing. As such it is a major employer within the Capel area.

Challenge Dairy Cooperative and Challenge Australian Dairy are inextricably linked through their shared philosophy of supporting farmer members of the cooperative and the Western Australian dairy industry in general.