Alan Reed, president of Reed’s Dairy, has been inducted into the Idaho Milk Processing Association’s Hall of Fame.
The recent honor was announced at the IMPA annual conference on Aug. 11 in Sun Valley, Idaho. Reed attended his first IMPA meeting 40 years ago in 1983. During that time, he served on the audit committee, which was then followed by serving as a board member, vice president, president, and chair of the New Dairy Product Contest, where he has served since its beginning. The competition provides the opportunity for dairy and food science students to create new, innovative products, each using a variety of dairy products.
“Alan Reed has helped to make our industry strong by serving the people of Idaho and our dairy industry well. The IMPA board of directors are honored to induct Alan Reed into our Hall of Fame in celebration of all his achievements,” said Mike Ragsdale, president, Idaho Milk Processors Association.
Reed was raised in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and has been part of the Idaho dairy community since he started working on the farming side of the dairy business. After attending Rick’s College (now BYU-Idaho), Reed started to work on the operational side of the business, managing milk processing, marketing and sales. He more than tripled the number of home delivery customers in the first two years, which created the need for Reed’s Dairy to increase their processing capability.
Among the dairy products manufactured at his Idaho Falls-based plant are several varieties of bottled milk, cheese, nearly 90 flavors of ice cream and their famous chocolate milk (made famous because of its use of potato flakes to create a thick, creamy texture).
Today, Reed’s Dairy operates six retail locations throughout the state of Idaho, along with home delivery businesses in Eastern Idaho and in the greater Boise metro area.
This recent award adds to a number of recent awards Reed’s Dairy has earned including: • 2023 Idaho’s Best Awards: Best Ice Cream in Idaho (third consecutive year) • 2023 Business of the year: Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce • 2023 ICON Award: Awarded to Alan Reed by the Idaho Business Review • 2023 Idaho Falls Magazine Readers’ Choice Award.