Dairy Products Manufacturing

Dairy Products Manufacturing

Brief Excerpt from Industry Overview Chapter:

Companies in this industry manufacture dairy-based products from raw and processed milk, along with dairy substitutes. Major companies include Dairy Farmers of America and Land O'Lakes (both based in the US), as well as Danone and Groupe Lactalis (France); Fonterra (New Zealand); FrieslandCampina (the Netherlands); Meiji (Japan); and Nestlé (Switzerland).

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Competition in the dairy product manufacturing industry is evolving as small upstart companies have introduced new higher-margin products that are taking market share from major producers. This trend, which is occurring throughout the food manufacturing sector, is pressuring industry leaders to acquire rivals and create new brand extensions that are more in line with consumers’ current tastes.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major product segments include cheese (about 30% of US industry revenue), dry milk, nonfat, infants' formula, and others (about 5%), and 2% reduced fat milk, 1% lowfat milk, and 0.5% lowfat milk (less than 15%). Other products include ice cream, other frozen desserts, and butter. Besides regular milk, milk products include buttermilk, cream, cottage cheese, yogurt, and dairy substitutes, such as soy milk.