New '˜state-of-the-art' milk delivery service arrives in Mid Sussex

Milk and More delivers to 67,000 homes along the south coast from its delivery hubs, one of which is in Burgess Hill.

It has invested £6.5million in ‘state-of-the-art’ electric milk floats, so it can keep up with our ‘needs’.

The electric fleet of 200 StreetScooters is the first of its kind in the UK.

Patrick Müller, CEO of Milk and More, said: “Our customers are at the heart of every decision we take and that includes our investment in the StreetScooter milk floats.

“As a business, we are committed to making this great British tradition relevant to 21st century consumers and therefore the delivery vehicles we use must also meet those needs.

“The new StreetScooters are our most environmentally friendly milk floats yet and are a fundamental part of a wider business strategy to provide a trusted home delivery service that connects customers with a wide range of high quality locally sourced products.

“We are already seeing the results of this strategy with a significant growth in online customers and in the sales of milk in one pint glass bottles.

“We deliver 100 million of these glass bottles every year, which are reused on average 25 times each.”

The StreetScooter EV van model is presently only used in Germany by Deutsche Post.

Powered by rechargeable batteries, it replaces diesel vehicles and with the company’s 200 new floats, it means that a third of its fleet will now be electric.

The three-year investment programme is to secure the future of the much-loved British milkman, making the business one of the largest operators of electric vehicles in the country.

Mr Müller added: “The StreetScooter is an ideal fit, from an environmental and noise reduction standpoint, for both us and our customers. We’re on a transformational journey, and the StreetScooter certainly helps us make this iconic tradition relevant to 21st century customers. It’s an exciting time for the business.”

The floats have zero emissions and in the first month of operation Milk and More has seen a 90 per cent reduction in operational fuel costs versus the outgoing diesel vehicles, a spokesman said.

Designed to ensure maximum capacity, each float has an eight-metre cube box body to carry up to 860 pints of milk, as well as a wide range of high quality, locally sourced products that are stored in the bespoke load compartment.

A spokesman added: “Noise reduction is a key customer benefit of the new floats – and a very important one – given that many of the milkmen and women are delivering to customers’ homes before 7am.”