Seattle-based Darigold Inc. announced an expansion of its organic pool of Northwest farms and an expansion of its broad-based organic capabilities and product offerings. While Darigold said it has had organic members for years and has processed organic milk and worked with co-pack partners, it is now also working directly with B2B customers to produce custom organic ingredients and with retail and foodservice channels to make packaged organic products.

As a part of this new marketing effort and growth, Darigold said it is adding organic segregation and processing capabilities to a fourth plant in addition to the existing three. The additional segregation capabilities will allow the company to offer even more organic ingredients, branded consumer products and co-packed products to meet increased customer demand for organic options.

As part of this expansion, the company said it released Darigold Northwest organic milk. The milk will initially be sold at select Costco warehouses, with plans for further distribution at other retail banners in the coming months. It is available in a three-pack of 64-ounce cartons in whole, 2%, 1% and skim milk varieties.

Last week, the co-op said it launched its flagship product — Darigold FIT milk — in an organic variety. It is also initially available at select Costco warehouses. Lactose-free Darigold FIT, which is also free of artificial sweeteners or preservatives, is designed to give consumers the great taste they want while being low in sugar and high in protein.

“Darigold is proud to offer a new local, organic milk option and is excited about the FIT brand extension,” said Duane Naluai, president of Darigold’s consumer products. “Our customers not only expect superior quality nutrition and great taste from all our dairy products, but demand for locally sourced certified organic products is growing. That is why we continue to expand our milk selections to now include Northwest organic milk and FIT organic milk from Darigold.”