The Dairy Crest acquisition of the Unigate doorstep business puts the combined operations second only to Express. However, for now, Dairy Crest has more routes to consumers. "The future of doorstep rests with our customers," said chief executive John Houliston. "As a company, we are as happy to serve our customers, whether that is in shops, on the doorstep or in leisure facilities. "Quite clearly, over the past few years the consumer has been buying an increasing proportion of fresh milk from shops. There is, however, an ongoing demand for doorstep deliveries." This sector is not an easy one by anyone's standards but, Houliston explains: "As long as our customers want us to deliver milk on the doorstep, on the assumption that it is profitable for us so to do, we will continue that service." {{PROVISIONS }}

Topics