Dean Foods Co. in May said it will acquire the manufacturing and retail ice cream business of Friendly’s Ice Cream for $155 million in cash. Friendly’s is a leading ice cream brand in the Northeast, as well as a restaurant company.
Alqueria Dairy (Bogota, Colombia), Alqueria Dairy (Santa Marta, Colombia), Prairie Farms (Carlinville, Ill.) and Umpqua Dairy Products Co. (Roseburg, Ore.) took the top Quality Chekd honors in dairy excellence, plant performance and marketing, respectively, at the 2016 QCS Leadership Conference in April.
Twelve dairies have been featured in Dairy Foods magazine and on dairyfoods.com over the previous 18 months.
June 3, 2016
Dairy Foods asks the dairy industry to help it select the 2016 Plant of the Year. We have nominated 12 dairy processing plants that manufacture fluid milk, ice cream, yogurt, cheese and other dairy and nondairy products.
Brookshire Grocery Co. Manufacturing, Tyler, Texas, was named member of the year at the All Star Association’s 58th annual convention in March. Fifty-two member companies and 42 suppliers attended.
The acquisition gives Grupo Lala a local platform for production and sales to serve the Hispanic market in the United States.
June 2, 2016
Grupo Lala said among the reasons it bought Laguna Dairy is that drinkable yogurts have been successful with major U.S. retailers and there are “firm commitments” to buy the products.
Based in Colorado but with roots in Australia, noosa yoghurt has disrupted dairy aisles throughout the United States. Innovative flavors and see-through packaging help the product stand out on grocers’ shelves.
Milk processors are not the only dairy companies with ties to this summer’s Olympic games. Lifeway Foods, a maker of kefir and other cultured dairy beverages, Carli Lloyd to serve as brand ambassador.
The USDA’s Dairy Market News reports that cheese inventories are long.
May 27, 2016
The holiday weekend sparked additional retail promotions, aiding sales of cheese. But as schools let out, milk processors plan to re-route volumes to their balancing plants.
Kirkpatrick served the dairy industry for over 28 years in various leadership positions, including 26 years as president of Michigan Milk Producers Association.
May 27, 2016
News about people in the dairy processing industry: William (Bill) Bartnik, Eric Bastian and Elwood Kirkpatrick.
The Food and Drug Administration says the “refreshed design and relevant information” contained in the label “will help consumers make healthy food choices”
May 20, 2016
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today updated the nutrition facts label for packaged foods.