PepsiCo Inc., and Theo Muller Group in Germany, announced their United States joint venture, Muller Quaker Dairy, will enter the growing U.S. dairy market with premium yogurt this summer.
Dannon’s highly automated plant in Minster, Ohio, can process 3 million cups of yogurt a day. The 24/7 facility turns out cup-set and blended yogurts, plus cultured dairy beverages.
June 1, 2012
Auglaize County is a prosperous agricultural region in west central Ohio where the median household income is about $52,000 and the poverty rate is 7%, well below the state’s level of 14%. One town in the county is Minster, located about 50 miles north of Dayton. It was settled in 1832 by German immigrants. Minster’s town crest reflects the heritage of its founding fathers. The crest includes a Christian cross and two pagan symbols important to Saxons — an acorn and horse heads. A fourth symbol is a canal boat.
Dannon is committed to bringing products to market quickly. Fostering internal communication and outside collaboration with suppliers helps the yogurt processor achieve that goal.
When European food makers speak about the potential for their products in the United States, their pupils dilate, they salivate and their hearts race. Take yogurt, for example. Here, we eat 12.8 pounds per person per year. In parts of Europe, annual consumption is as high as 60 pounds per person. Canadians also eat more yogurt than Americans. Per capita consumption was about 22.2 pounds in 2011. If the U.S. just reached Canadian proportions, it would mean nearly doubling the category, which today is valued at approximately $5.5 billion, according to Dannon.
As consumers pay more attention to their health, yogurt and enhanced milk are topping dairy product trends, according to “What’s in Store 2012,” the annual trends report compiled from more than 150 sources by the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association, Madison, Wis.
A look at the people, products and processors making news this week. In this edition: Fonterra, California Dairies Inc., Westby Cooperative Creamery, Fage, HP Hood and more.
Jay Allison, vice president of sales and marketing at Tillamook, and Ron Cotterman and Scott Bossong of Sealed Air Cryovac Food Packaging don the guest blogger mantle this week. Meanwhile, in Jim Carper’s Dairy Case, the Dairy Foods editor comments on the news.