Longmont Dairy likes to keep things old-school. From its glass milk bottles to its doorstep delivery model, the family-owned business treats its customers to a blast from the past.
This year, Longmont Dairy is also looking back in time to its founding six decades ago.
Longmont Dairy provides weekly milk deliveries to communities from Loveland in the north to Parker in the south. Milk from Longmont Dairy cows is bottled within 24 hours, then quickly shipped out to eager Front Range customers.
Longmont Dairy’s headquarters is on Coffman Street, but all of its milk is sourced from its farm near Loveland. There, its 600 cows are cared for without any steroids, antibiotics or artificial hormones, according to the business.
That commitment to freshness is why some customers stick with Longmont Dairy for decades.
“It’s not uncommon to have somebody say they’ve been a customer with us for 30 years,” said Katie Copeland, Longmont Dairy president and third-generation co-owner.
Longmont Dairy takes pride in its farm-to-doorstep model. According to Gabi Johnston, media relations manager for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Longmont Dairy is one of just two Colorado dairies that offer home delivery.
It’s also one of two dairies in the state that use reusable glass containers, Johnston wrote in an email.
Copeland’s grandfather Jim Boyd was one of Longmont Dairy’s founders back in 1965. Over the years, Copeland has watched her family business evolve by partnering with local companies to deliver even more fresh products, including bread, yogurt and cookie dough.
“We’re honored that we’ve made it this far, especially as a third-generation business,” she said. “It’s exciting.”
Earlier this year, Longmont Dairy’s “Milk Caps for Mooola” program hit 15 million caps. The program encourages participating Colorado schools to collect Longmont Dairy glass bottle caps. Each bottle cap is worth 5 cents, and schools can trade in their collections for cash.
Over 400 schools have participated in the program since it started in 2012, with Vista Ridge Academy in Erie sending in the 15 millionth cap. With that milestone reached, Longmont Dairy has donated over $750,000 to Colorado schools.
Owner Dave McDougall begins sales at the Longmont Farmers Market on June 14 by giving out a sample. Mackenzie Shelden, left, would be helping him that day.(Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)
Longmont Dairy regularly hosts a booth at the Longmont branch of the Boulder County Farmers Markets, as well as the Westminster and Arvada farmers markets. In June, the business hosted raffles at each market, during which current Longmont Dairy customers could win free metal milk boxes.
“Some customers buy a metal milk box that’s a little more nostalgic and cool on your front porch, but they’re kind of pricey,” Copeland explained. “We just wanted a way to thank our customers.”
Cold samples of root beer milk and strawberry milk were snatched up by guests during a recent hot Saturday morning. The tent ran out of chocolate milk not long after 11 a.m.
Dave McDougall, a Longmont Dairy brand representative, said most of the market shoppers who visit the tent already know about Longmont Dairy.
“They’re aware of it, if not customers,” he said. “They bring their families over to try the products. And then they try the stuff they haven’t had.”
McDougall called out the cold brew coffee and orange juice as standouts from Longmont Dairy’s collection of products. He said he likes Longmont Dairy for several reasons, including its great staff and the fact that it’s a local business.
“There’s actually, to this point, nothing I don’t like about it,” he said.
Longmont Dairy will be at the Longmont farmers market at the Boulder County Fairgrounds, 9595 Nelson Road, until Nov. 15. The market is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.