CHELSEA, Mass.—HP Hood LLC plans to sell the conventional dairy business of Crystal Cream & Butter Company of Sacramento, Calif. to Modesto, Calif.-based, Foster Dairy Farms.  HP Hood purchased Crystal in May of this year and will complete the sale of Crystal’s conventional dairy business, including the Crystal and McColl’s brands, before the end of the year. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Hood says it expects to retain about 50 employees to support the continued operations at the Sacramento plant and intends to focus primarily on manufacturing extended-shelf-life (ESL) products in Sacramento, including the company’s license branded products.  Foster Dairy Farms intends to relocate production of Crystal’s conventional fluid milk products to its processing plant in Modesto, but it will continue to have distribution operations in the Sacramento area.  

“Our primary focus right now is on helping those employees who will be affected by the sale,” Hood spokesperson Lynne Bohan said last month. “In the coming days we will be working closely with the Union officials to finalize staffing for the new operation and severance packages and outplacement assistance for those individuals who will not be placed with either organization.” 

Crystal currently processes and distributes both ESL and conventional fluid milks and distributes frozen, cultured and butter dairy products as well.