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Epicurean Dairy: How a fast-growing manufacturer cut risk by 48% using their existing CCTV

  • Nov 1, 2025
  • 3 min read

Updated: Jan 2

Epicurean Dairy (the team behind The Collective) runs multiple busy sites in a tight footprint with forklifts, vehicles, pedestrians, and the usual “we’re growing fast” chaos. They rolled out inviol on top of their existing cameras, focused on a few high-impact risks, and saw a 48% drop in overall risk from peak levels. 



The reality: four sites, one crescent, lots of moving parts


Epicurean Dairy was founded in 2009 to “shake up the dairy category” and it worked. Today they manufacture and distribute from a compact industrial footprint in Avondale, Auckland, and continued growth has added complexity. 


That growth also multiplied the biggest day-to-day safety risk: vehicles and people moving around (and between) sites. As Michaela Dumper (General Manager) put it, operating across multiple neighbouring sites “adds quite a lot of complexity,” and vehicle safety was already identified as one of their biggest risks. 



Before inviol: reactive, slow, and missing the “why”


Like most sites with cameras, Epicurean could look back after something happened — but that meant time lost, and lessons learned too late.


They described the old approach as retrospective: review footage after an incident or near miss, try to piece together what happened, and still not always get to the root cause. 



What they implemented: key detectors that mattered most


Epicurean started where the risk was highest: proximity between forklifts/vehicles and pedestrians, especially in loading zones and mixed-traffic areas. 


They focused on:


  • 3m and 1m exclusion zones in loading zones and warehouses 

  • PPE detection (visibility on who’s entering without PPE) 

  • Machine speed monitoring against a set site speed limit 



And critically: they didn’t turn this into “gotcha surveillance”.


Sajal Saha (HSE Advisor) explained the approach clearly: faces are blurred, and the point is identifying problems — not exposing individuals. 


“It’s not about exposing individuals, it’s about identifying problems.” 


Rollout: fast, seamless — even with older cameras


Epicurean integrated inviol into an existing (and older) CCTV setup, and the theme from the floor was simple: it was done before they even had time to worry about it.


Sajal’s summary:

  • “Our CCTV system is old
 but the integration was seamless.” 

  • “Honestly, I didn’t even notice when it was done.” 



The results: fewer breaches, faster improvements, better conversations



1) A measurable risk reduction


Epicurean’s targeted coaching (powered by the inviol platform) drove a 48% drop in overall risk from peak levels. 



2) Safer forklift behaviour and proof it’s sticking


One concrete change they made off the back of inviol insights: Machine on Plant behaviour. Michaela noted they’d gone weeks without any one-metre breaches, something they weren’t seeing before. 



3) “Proactive” stopped being a poster and it became the operating system


Both leaders described a clear cultural shift: from reacting to incidents, to spotting risky patterns early (lead indicators) and coaching before harm happens. 


That shift showed up in the weekly rhythm of the business:

  • Epicurean’s exec team holds a weekly “Ground Control” meeting, and the first thing discussed is inviol incident numbers from the previous week. 

  • Toolbox meetings in manufacturing and warehouses also start with the inviol coaching platform each day. 



4) Less load on one person, more shared ownership


Sajal highlighted that review and coaching time is now manageable because line and warehouse managers are actively involved and the inviol app has been embedding it into BAU. 



Why it worked: coaching, clarity, and “showing the video”


Epicurean nailed something most safety tech fails at: behaviour change.


They didn’t just add a tool, they used it to create awareness. Sajal explained that when people see the footage, it becomes obvious what needs to change (including for leaders themselves). 


And when fear showed up early (“AI watching us”), they addressed it head-on: explain the why, protect privacy, and keep it coaching-first. 



About Epicurean Dairy (and the Made Group connection)


Epicurean Dairy is the umbrella company behind The Collective, a New Zealand brand founded in 2009 with a mission to “shake things up”, producing dairy and dairy-free yoghurt and sour cream in NZ. 


Epicurean Dairy NZ also joined Made Group in 2024 as part of Made’s global expansion.

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