Tatua Dairy Company

Tatua Co-operative Dairy Company, trading as Tatua, is a small independent co-operative dairy company in the Matamata-Piako District of the Waikato Region, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located in the small rural locality of Tatuanui, approximately 8 kilometres east of Morrinsville. The co-operative is owned by 112 farmer shareholders, all within a 12 kilometre radius of the processing factory.

The co-operative has maintained a strong independent history within the New Zealand dairy industry. In the 2001 mega-merger for the New Zealand dairy industry - which formed Fonterra - Tatua shareholders decided to remain independent (along with Westland Milk Products). Given that New Zealand had over 500 dairy co-operatives in the 1930s, Tatua is unique in that it is the only New Zealand dairy co-operative remaining that has never been part of any merger throughout its history.

Despite being the smallest dairy company in New Zealand, Tatua often records the highest payout for milksolids to the farmer shareholders. This level of performance has been seen as a strong factor in Tatua remaining independent. While the high level of payout is partly due to a small catchment area (which reduces processing costs), the excellent financial performance of Tatua is increasingly attributed to focusing on value-added milk products rather than traditional, mass-produced, commodity-based milk products such as milk powder, butter and cheese.