How to start a milk round: a practical guide for the UK

Doorstep milk delivery is a round in its purest form: the same customers, the same few products, very early every delivery day. Many modern rounds sell more than milk (eggs, juice, bread, groceries) and take orders online. This guide covers what you need to start one in the UK, from registration to routes. It's general information; check the linked official guidance and your local council for your own situation.

1. Decide what kind of round you'll run

• Independent round buying from a dairy or wholesaler and reselling under your own name.
• Round linked to a dairy or farm, delivering their products, sometimes under an agreement with them.
• Buying an existing round from someone retiring. Check the customer list, how many pay reliably and what the supply terms are.

Whichever route you take, agree supply terms in writing: price, collection or delivery times, minimum quantities, returns of empties and what happens when the supplier is short.

2. Register as a food business

Distributing food counts as a food business. Gov.uk says you must register with your local authority at least 28 days before trading in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and that this covers food distribution businesses and mobile operations (gov.uk: register a food business). Food Standards Scotland gives the same 28-day rule in Scotland (Food Standards Scotland).

If you plan to process, bottle or wrap milk yourself, rather than distribute milk already packed by a dairy, that's a different level of regulation. The government's list of approved food establishments includes raw milk and dairy product establishments approved by local authorities (approved food establishments), and Food Standards Scotland notes that businesses handling dairy products for supply to other businesses may need approval rather than registration. Talk to your council's environmental health team early if this applies to you.

3. Keep it cold

Milk is a chilled product. Gov.uk says chilled food must be kept at 8°C or below, a legal requirement in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and recommended in Scotland, and suggests setting fridges to 5°C or below to allow for fluctuations (gov.uk: chilling and freezing). Chilled food must also stay at the right temperature during transport (gov.uk: storing and transporting food).

In practice that means a cold store at your base, a refrigerated or well-insulated vehicle, and a plan for how long milk sits on a doorstep. Delivering before dawn helps; so does offering customers a cool box for warm months. Keep a simple record of fridge temperatures; it's part of showing you manage food safety.

4. Vehicle and base

Traditional electric milk floats are quiet and suited to short urban rounds; most new rounds use a small van, often with an insulated or refrigerated body. Think about:

• Range and speed for your area. A rural round covers far more miles than an urban one.
• Loading. Crates of glass bottles are heavy; an easy-access side door saves your back over hundreds of stops.
• Noise. You'll be on residential streets in the early hours.
• Where you'll keep stock, empties and the vehicle overnight.

5. Products and pricing

Start with a short list: a few types of milk in glass and plastic, plus high-margin extras like eggs, juice and bread. Every extra item on an existing drop adds income without adding miles. Price per item, and be clear about any delivery charge or minimum order.

Your costs per drop are mostly time and fuel, so density matters. Our delivery cost calculator gives you a cost per drop, and the round pricing calculator helps you set prices that cover it.

6. Build a dense round

A milk round lives or dies on how many customers you have per street. Grow outward from where you already deliver: leaflet the neighbours of existing customers, offer a trial week, and say no to isolated customers far away unless they pay more. Glass bottle returns are popular with customers who want less plastic, and they give you a reason to talk to people on your existing streets.

7. Orders, changes and holidays

Most customers have a standing order ("two pints Mon, Wed, Fri") with frequent small changes: an extra pint for visitors, a pause for a holiday. Notes in bottles and texts to your personal phone don't scale. Set a clear cut-off for changes, such as by 4pm the day before, and give customers one way to make them. See setting order cut-off times and managing standing orders.

RoundSorted gives each customer their own ordering link where they can change or pause deliveries until your cut-off, and works out the morning's load list and run sheet from everyone's standing orders and changes.

8. Plan the early-morning route

Rounds usually follow the same order every day, but the list of houses changes with each customer's delivery days. Plan the order once with the free route planner, then adjust it as customers join. Group by street, avoid crossing main roads repeatedly, and finish near base. Load in reverse drop order so the next crate is always at the door.

For safety, set up your navigation before you move off; it's illegal to hold and use a phone while driving (gov.uk).

Holidays, pauses and new starters

Doorstep customers go on holiday, have visitors and change their minds. Make pausing easy: a customer who can pause for two weeks without phoning you is far less likely to cancel altogether. When someone new signs up, confirm their first delivery day, where to leave the milk and how they'll pay before you deliver anything. A short welcome note with your cut-off time and how to make changes saves a lot of questions later.

9. Getting paid

Weekly or monthly bills are typical. Collecting cash at the door means knocking on doors at the weekend; most rounds now prefer customers to pay online or by bank transfer. Make each bill itemised by day so customers can see what they had. See what to include on a delivery invoice.

RoundSorted sends weekly or monthly invoices built from what was actually delivered, which customers can pay by card through your own Stripe account. See RoundSorted for milk and doorstep rounds.