This expansion is thanks to a second milk processing plant being constructed to help with demands for the milk. The plant is expected to be completed by June.

Lewis Road Creamery marking director Angela Weeks says the new plant will produce at least double the capacity of what the company is currently producing.

The company’s output has held firm at around 35,000 to 40,000 litres of milk produced per week since February.

This is a pretty big step up from the initial 1000 litres of milk the company started with late last year.

Lewis Road Creamery’s popularity was spurred on by its cult-like status on social media.

Juanita Neville-Te Rito, CEO of retail marketing company Hotfoot, told Idealog the milk’s success was due to tapping into the trend of people wanting to be in the know in their peer group.

After many a “Have you tried this yet?” post by consumers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, Lewis Road Creamery chocolate milk snowballed in popularity and became a coveted item.

It has proved to be even more coveted by South Islanders, as the milk was in such high demand for retailers around the North Island that it had no chance of making its way into stores in the South Island.

Weeks says South Islander retailers have been really keen to stock it ever since it launched.

She says the chocolate milk frenzy that gripped the nation last year is still happening.

“The demand is still high and we’re still selling out, so when we can make more chocolate milk there’ll be more going to the North Island too,” Weeks says.

“We’re still selling out in places.”

Time will tell whether South Island consumers will be more sensible with their purchases of the milk, or if a brand new chocolate milk epidemic will break out.

This article was originally run on Idealog’s sibling website TheRegister.co.nz