Hundreds of eager milk lovers are braving freezing temperatures to join a massive 500m queue at Sydney\u2019s Eveleigh markets for a taste of viral farm-fresh Jersey milk.<\/p>\n
It is 8:30am on a chilly Saturday morning, and a crowd of hundreds of people is already snaking past the historic brick facade and along the train tracks at Carriageworks Farmers Market.<\/p>\n
Shoppers packed into the line tell me that anyone hoping to beat the rush needed to arrive well before the market even opened.<\/p>\n
Rugged up in heavy winter puffers with reusable tote bags in hand, locals and students chatted excitedly to pass the time while hoping stock wouldn\u2019t run out before they reached the counter.<\/p>\n
While market crowds usually line up for viral pastries or buzzy croissant mashups, this wild craze is entirely for milk.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Camden Valley Farm, located just 34km away, has become an overnight sensation thanks to its nostalgic, unhomogenised cream-on-top Jersey milk.<\/p>\n
The family-owned and operated business runs on an old-school \u201cgrass to glass\u201d principle, relying on a pure Jersey herd of just 40 cows cared for by owners Luke and Jessica Micallef.<\/p>\n
Because the milk is minimally processed, whatever the cows produce ends up directly in the bottle, giving it a rich texture and flavour unlike standard supermarket milk.<\/p>\n
The social media craze<\/p>\n
The dairy obsession has completely exploded over the last two months following a wave of viral posts on Red Note, a Chinese social media platform popular among international students.<\/p>\n
Dozens of posts online have praised the single-source milk as the \u201cbest tasting milk in Sydney\u201d and \u201cabsolute heaven\u201d.<\/p>\n
At the market stall, a handful of staff members were seen frantically rushing around trying to keep up with the endless queue that people continually added to.<\/p>\n
Workers scrambled to process payments while others frantically unloaded fresh crates from the back of a delivery truck.<\/p>\n
One woman waiting near the front said she joined the queue at 8:15am, just 15 minutes after the market opened, after discovering the brand on Red Note.<\/p>\n
She explained she was hoping to score four bottles of plain milk and two tubs of yoghurt to see what the hype was about.<\/p>\n
Another woman, standing in line alongside her friend, said they were both excited to try the strawberry milk after reading rave reviews on the app.<\/p>\n
One man waiting admitted he had been standing in line for an hour simply because his girlfriend saw the viral posts and insisted on trying it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want it, it\u2019s so popular and so many people say it\u2019s so good, so I want to try,\u201d his girlfriend told news.com.au. <\/p>\n
Some dedicated shoppers were even spotted lugging heavy cardboard boxes packed to the brim with the milk and yoghurt.<\/p>\n
One Newtown woman carrying her haul of goodies confessed she had been in line since 8am, missing out on the popular strawberry milk which sold out by 8:40am.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll have to come earlier next week,\u201d she laughed. <\/p>\n
Strict purchase limits imposed<\/p>\n
To manage the unprecedented crowds, printed posters taped around the stall now explicitly outline strict purchase limits per customer.<\/p>\n
Shoppers are restricted to buying a maximum of four plain milks, two yoghurts, and four flavoured milks.<\/p>\n
A sign set up on the concourse directs returning customers to a dedicated \u201cSwap and Go Entry\u201d lane, allowing them to drop off empty glass bottles and bypass the main queue.<\/p>\n
Owner Luke Micallef revealed that people have been lining up since 7:30am every week, leaving his small family team struggling to keep up with demand.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have about 300 people each week, but we don\u2019t have enough milk for them,\u201d Luke told news.com.au in between serving customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast week we ran out at 9:30am, and I think we\u2019ll run out sooner this week,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
When asked about the sudden social media stardom, Luke admitted he feels a mix of emotions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great that people are loving the milk, but we only have so much,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the milk we produce comes from our cows, so we\u2019re limited in what we can produce.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to give new people the chance to try our milk while also trying to look after our regular customers who have been supporting us for years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When asked if he had any plans to scale up operations, Luke immediately shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNah, we\u2019ve got more staff here than we ever have before \u2013 it\u2019s usually just me and my son, but we have five of us here today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re landlocked so we can only produce so much milk,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Luke believes customers are responding to simple, honest produce.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they can buy it direct from the farmer, which is what they want to do \u2013 to bypass the supermarkets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, all of our products are minimally processed so we pasteurise them, but that\u2019s all we do.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur yoghurt is milk and culture and nothing else, so really simple food \u2013 back to basics,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Farm door scalping <\/p>\n
While marketgoers can try their luck at Eveleigh, others have tried heading straight to the farm door in Camden<\/a>, which operates on an honour system with a self-service fridge.<\/p>\n However, the viral frenzy has created an unexpected wave of scalping, with opportunistic \u201cpersonal shoppers\u201d raiding the farm shop to resell the products for profit.<\/p>\n \u201cSome people have got buyers groups together, personal shoppers are coming out, and they\u2019re emptying our fridge and reselling the product,\u201d Luke revealed.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat they\u2019re doing is they\u2019re organising a group of people, putting a thing out saying \u2018we\u2019re going out to the farm tomorrow, send your orders, and we\u2019ll pick it up for you,\u2019 and they\u2019re turning up and filling up their car,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The self-service fridge normally holds enough stock to last local residents two or three days between milkings.<\/p>\n Now, the influx of scalpers is leaving loyal locals completely empty-handed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got regular customers who\u2019ve been buying product two or three times a week for two years, but they\u2019re turning up, and there\u2019s no milk left,\u201d Luke said.<\/p>\n On one recent Monday night, the team stocked the fridge full, only to find it completely cleaned out by the following morning.<\/p>\n The situation prompted Luke to post a warning on Facebook condemning the scalping and begging buyers not to wipe out the fridge.<\/p>\n Local supporters quickly flooded the post with frustration over the greedy behaviour, saying they hoped these irresponsible buyers wouldn\u2019t ruin the farm shop for everyone else.<\/p>\n Another local noted they had recently spotted a couple filling multiple bags at the fridge and wondered how anyone could possibly consume that much milk.<\/p>\n A third follower even suggested the farm might need to hire a security guard to stop people wiping out the shelves.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n Looking ahead, Luke confirmed he has no interest in supplying major supermarkets, though he is experimenting with new ideas.<\/p>\n \u201cWe bought a gelato machine two weeks ago, but we literally don\u2019t have any milk to put in it,\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re waiting for this to settle a little bit and then we\u2019ll start doing some new products, hopefully,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Got a story? DM me @el_katelaris<\/a><\/p>\n Read related topics:Sydney<\/a>