4. The Modern Milkman

Ecommerce Award Shortlisted

For businesses showing evidence of genuine innovation in the competitive ecommerce space to support seamless consumer experience.

Startups 100: Ecommerce Awards

Founders: Simon Mellin, Tom Shaw, Becky Hilton
Founded: 2018
Website: themodernmilkman.co.uk

Who doesn’t want their milk delivered right to their doorstep in the mornings in a failsafe way? With your milk dropped at your door, you never have to worry about missing out on a bowl of cereal or your essential morning coffee.

Of course, this is something of an old-school concept. But it’s one that The Modern Milkman is bringing bang up to date for a new generation to enjoy.

The Modern Milkman is a team that started off as four friends who were interested in bringing back an age-old tradition of delivering milk to doorsteps. This wasn’t simply about consumer convenience. They’d noticed just how badly the shift to single-use plastic packaging was affecting the environment, and that supermarket 2ltr milk bottle had its share of blame.

The team believes that for real change to happen, their company needs to make sustainable choices convenient and accessible to all.

Their idea has since rapidly grown into a fully-fledged, plastic-saving, waste-reducing business. Its aim is to help revolutionise consumer habits and deliver milk (as well as other groceries) in return-and-reuse, compostable, and recyclable packaging. Any packaging that isn’t reusable is plastic-free, recyclable or home-compostable (including teabags, a very complementary milk counterpart).

At The Modern Milkman, the team believes that for real change to happen, their company needs to make sustainable choices convenient and accessible to all.

The business has even launched personal plastic counters for customers, so they can actually track the amount of plastic they’ve saved through the service.

They also take pride in the fact that they do not greenwash. Their business isn’t about virtue-signalling and appearing to be doing the right thing for the environment. The team wants to make a tangible difference, and the business impacts are simple, effective and measurable. In fact, they recently hit an incredible milestone: the company has now saved 50 million plastic bottles from landfill.

The business has even launched personal plastic counters for customers, so they can actually track the amount of plastic they’ve saved through the service. This is a great motivator when it comes to encouraging further eco-conscious behaviours.

The Modern Milkman believes the only way to reverse the plastic problem is through return-and-reuse, so they are dedicated to continuing to innovate and expand here in the UK and beyond.

The business recently launched in France – its first market outside of the UK. Its most recent Series C round in November 2022 has taken its funding to date to an incredible £50m. All of this shows great promise for a business that’s taking a classic concept on the road to further future success.