Cornish Family Owned Business
Trewithen Dairy is owned and run by the Clarke family, who have owned Greymare Farm in the Glynn Valley since 1976, and started crafting dairy products there in March 1994. It’s taken all this experience, along with plenty of hard work and patience, to build the business and to produce the delicious dairy products that are at the heart of everything we do.
Our Family story
In the early days the Clarkes had their own herd. Bill and Rachel would bottle the milk once the children were in bed and deliver it early the next morning. They cooked the clotted cream themselves, in open trays and potted it by hand. Their customers loved all of the Cornish dairy goodness and soon the Clarkes were supplying more and more happy customers.
By 2001 the milk bottling and cream making side of the business had become so successful that a big decision had to be made. To continue dairy farming or switch completely over to processing milk. It wasn’t an easy decision, but the family sold their herd and moved full time into producing milk, cream and, more recently, butter and yoghurt.
Trewithen today
Son Francis now has a key role as Director in the business working alongside a talented and committed management team. We have more than 250 highly valued employees who, as much as the Clarkes, are part of one big family business.
Francis has been involved with the family business (started by his parents in 1994) for over 15 years after graduating from Bath University with a BSC in Economics in 2007. Francis has overseen the growth of the Trewithen business to become a significant regional employer of over 250 people and has developed partnerships with 35 Cornish dairy farmers who supply milk exclusively to Trewithen Dairy.
meet the family
Francis Clarke
Meet Francis Clarke. Owner and Director of Trewithen Dairy. Passionate about dairy and sustainability, you’ll often find Francis waxing lyrical about the carbon neutral potential of regenerative farming or the latest developments in electric vehicles! In his personal time, Francis enjoys running on the Cornish coast path and spending time with his wife and three children on the Cornish beaches – he feels most alive when outdoors – favourite quote is ‘there’s no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing’.
Rachel Clarke
Meet Rachel Clarke. Co-founder of Trewithen Dairy. Our story starts with Rachel, as she started making clotted cream back in 1994 using the milk brought in from their own herd. Bill and Rachel would bottle the milk once their four children were in bed and deliver it early the next morning. They cooked the clotted cream themselves, in open trays and potted it by hand. Soon, the Clarkes were supplying more and more happy customers. By 2001, the milk bottling and cream making side of the business had become so successful that the family made the brave decision to sell their herd and moved full time into producing milk, cream, butter and yoghurt.
Bill Clarke
Meet Bill Clarke. Bill is the co-founder and owner of his family business Trewithen Dairy, with his wife Rachel and son Francis. Bill Clarke started his career as a dairy farmer and still runs his farm. He has been an officeholder in the NFU with various chairman positions, including chairman of Cornwall, the South West and a national NFU committee.
