Articles by Brian Berk

IFT First wrapped up its annual trade show at Chicago’s McCormick Place from July 16-19. More than 16,000 food professionals attended the event, and more than 800 companies exhibited. 

Milk alternatives and plant-based products are featured twice in this issue: the Outlook Report and Market Trends. There has been much discussion about this topic thus far in 2023. 

At first glance, oats and coconuts have little in common. But they certainly share one thing: as milk alternative products, both products are flying off the shelves.

Adam Gurga, national manager of grocery and retail partnerships at Alpharetta, Ga.-based  Cimcorp, a pioneer of intralogistics automation that specializes in fresh food handling and tire-handling solutions, joins Dairy Foods for Episode 31 of the “Let’s Talk Dairy” podcast to offer insights on technology, automation, and AI.

Moments after Dairy Foods arrived at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Mich., in July, the rental car clerk asked what the car was needed for.

It placed third in the 2021 Dairy 100. It placed second in the 2022 Dairy 100. This year it is No. 1. Other companies saw major growth. Moving 33 spaces,  Valley Queen Cheese Factory Inc., Milbank., S.D., No. 87 in 2021 net revenue, moved to No. 54 with a 2022 net revenue of $600 million.

PACK EXPO, the most comprehensive packaging and processing event in North America, is set to return to the Las Vegas Convention Center from Sept. 11 to 13. 

Dr. Bombay Ice Cream, the brand co-founded by Snoop Dogg, is expanding. Jeremy Reich, chief strategy officer, exclusively tells Dairy Foods that the rapper has "personally curated every aspect of the business, from the format of ice cream pints to the selection of flavors."

Although inflation has begun its descent, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the story remains the same for several dairy categories: dollar sales are up and unit sales are down in a majority of categories.

Two months ago in this column, I addressed the alleged decline of milk consumption by Generation Z, defined as those born between 1997 and 2012. According to a report, Gen Z is consuming much less milk than the national average.