Processors combine tropical fruit flavors in ice cream and fruit bars. They look to the bakery aisle for inspiration and develop “dessert within a dessert” creations like red velvet cake and S’mores ice cream.

The dairy industry is promoting milk’s role in building muscle. But that alone won’t increase consumption. Packaging, flavors and channels of distribution have to pull their weight, too.

You’ll find market trends, business success strategies, ideas for new foods and beverages, food safety programs and ideas for tapping the export market.

 Quality Chekd honored Umpqua Dairy Products Co.’s plant in Oregon with the sought-after Production Excellence Award. A veteran production crew and attention to detail yield high- quality Grade A products, ice cream and frozen yogurt. 

Oregon’s Umpqua Dairy promotes the quality and freshness of its locally sourced milk. The third-generation family business, which also makes cottage cheese, sour cream, ice cream and other dairy products, is expanding beyond the Pacific Northwest.

After holding its annual Innovation Roadshow in a hotel ballroom, David Michael decided to take the event on the road.

At a butter plant in Wisconsin, a robot stacks 50-pound boxes of butter in a repetitive pattern to ensure that every pallet is stacked efficiently.

The nimble cheesemakers at Westby Cooperative Creamery can make a dozen different conventional and organic products a day. They process cheeses, yogurts and other cultured dairy foods for private-label accounts, plus Westby’s own award-winning cottage cheese brand.