From a trade-show chalkboard to 1,000 US outlets: Pepe Saya’s local-production turn
International business story | An Australian butter maker tested demand, then transferred its recipe to an Amish farm.
Editorial desk
A handwritten chalkboard became the turning point that helped Australian cultured-butter brand Pepe Saya find a US production partner. Austrade’s 15 October 2026 case review says a message at the 2023 New York Fancy Food Show caught the attention of Brother Daniel, who helps Amish farmers in Lancaster County take their milk to market. It was a trade-show connection, not a fictional encounter.
The story began with a smaller market test. In 2022, Pepe Saya won an opportunity to export butter to Central Market in Texas. The company says US shoppers examined ingredients and asked about production, making grass-fed dairy a useful point of difference. It also says taste ultimately sells the product, so sampling mattered more than relying on the story alone.
After the show, the brand chose local production in a mature dairy market rather than shipping every product from Australia. A US buttery was established on an Amish farm the following year. Austrade says it now supplies cultured butter to around 1,000 retailers and food-service businesses. That is channel reach, not a claim about revenue, profit or guaranteed orders.
Local production required transferring know-how, not merely applying an Australian label. Co-founder Pierre Issa first met Amish farmers and sought the community elders’ approval. He later spent three months in Lancaster County showing producers how to make butter to Pepe Saya’s recipe. Smaller brands can learn from the need to make recipes, operating steps and quality decisions teachable.
The partnership also built a local supply base. A collective of Amish dairy farms now supplies about 3,000 litres of cream each week, while the buttery employs 10 community members to make and pack butter. These official case figures show how raw materials, jobs and production were connected, although another company would need a model suited to its own volumes and market.
Taste was not enough for market entry. The Amish partners had not previously needed the HACCP food-safety certification required for the buttery, so Pepe Saya sought Austrade’s help on US rules and food-safety requirements. The agency also helped identify sales channels and distribution partners aligned with provenance, transparency and brand presentation.
The result combines two routes: some products are made locally, while most butter sheets are still exported from Australia. Austrade says small airfreight shipments began two years earlier and Pepe Saya now ships about eight containers a year, each holding 15 tonnes. A practical first step is a sampleable small batch that records repeat demand, cold-chain issues and compliance before choosing export or local production.
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Some images in this article are generated illustrations.