The world's first cold-pressed raw milk is now in supermarkets thanks to Aussie startup Made By Cow — and it will set you back $6 a bottle

• The world's first cold pressed raw milk is hitting shelves, thanks to Australian dairy startup Made by Cow.

• Instead of being pasteurised, the milk is processed using a cold high pressure processing technique. The high-tech process is part of the reason why Made by Cow is more expensive than other milks, with a $1.5 litre bottle retailing for $6.

• The Made by Cow launch follows the rise of Aussie premium milk company a2, which is worth $11.2 billion, and has penetrated the Chinese market.

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The world’s first cold-pressed raw milk has come to select supermarket shelves and will retail for as much as $6 a bottle.

The "breakthrough method" developed by Aussie startup Made by Cow has been approved by the New South Wales Food Authority and now available in select grocery chains such as IGA and Harris Farm Markets in all states but Tasmania.

The milk isn’t heat pasteurised or homogenised, the system used when processing most milk. Instead, the product — which comes from the company's farm on the New South Wales south coast — is bottled, sealed and placed under cold high pressure in a patented technology to kill off bacteria, Made by Cow explained in a statement to the media.

The company said the pressure destroys harmful bacteria while being gentler on milk's natural ingredients.

"The result is a safe, unaltered, deliciously creamy, cold pressed raw milk – straight from farm to bottle – and is set to become a major export opportunity for Australia," the statement said.

And it is because of this high pressure process, that the cold pressed raw milk can remain on shelves for up to six weeks.

Previously raw milk (also known as untreated milk) had to be heated to at least 72 degrees to kill bacteria. However, in 2016 the New South Wales Food Authority approved high pressure processing (HPP) as an alternative to pasteurisation for safe processing of raw milk.

Made by Cow marketing manager Joanna Warr told Business Insider Australia Made by Cow's milk was about making raw milk safe and accessible.

"It was more around finding a way to bring the benefits of raw milk safely to people in Australia," she said.

Warr confirmed that milk comes in 750mL and 1.5L varieties, retailing at $3.99 and $5.99 respectively, and while she said she wasn't sure it is Australia's most expensive milk on the market, she admitted it was "definitely on the more expensive end".

That's because of the "multimillion dollar investment" involved in the processing system, she said. Plus, the company claims to be giving dairy farmers a fairer share.

“Our milk contains more of milk’s natural goodness whilst still being 100% safe from harmful bacteria, and we’re paying our farmers a premium – which to us is just as important as the improved taste and nutrition profile,” Made by Cow CEO Wade Porter said in the statement.

The pricing makes it more expensive than a2 Milk Company, which was previously the priciest on the market at $5 for two litres of full cream milk.

a2 has been a breakout success story in the milk industry, with a market capitalisation of $11.20 billion.

And nutritional value was one of the main reasons for a2's success. Speaking at a conference in Sydney on May 1, a2 Milk Company CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said one of the reasons for the company’s success was due to consumers favouring health and wellness, the Australian Financial Review reported.

It seems competition in the milk market is heating — or perhaps cold pressing — up.