PACKAGING TECHNOLOGIES 

The need to keep dairy products safe and fresh while distinguishing offerings is resulting in a greater processor demand for highly functional designs. While suppliers are responding by offering a wider array of options, operators also face the task of leveraging the most appropriate options for their unique situations.

INSIDE THE PLANT 

Situated between Madison and Milwaukee, Wis., on Interstate 94 in a 7,000-resident town called Lake Mills lies Crystal Farms Dairy Co.’s plant. On a daily basis, Crystal Farms’ conversion plant, which opened approximately 40 years ago, is taking bulk cheese blocks and converting them into shredded cheese, block cheese and other products.

DAIRY FOODS EXTRA 

Get ready for a new event from the American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI). The Global Ingredients Summit is coming to the Peppermill Reno in Reno, Nev., from March 11 to 13. It combines two of ADPI’s signature ADPI events — the Global Cheese Technology Forum and the Dairy Ingredient Technical Symposium — into one premier event.

INGREDIENT TECHNOLOGIES 

In response to the growing consumer demand for selections that are new, exciting and healthy, more dairy processors are incorporating a wider array of inclusions in their selections, with fruit and nuts playing key roles.

OUTLOOK REPORT 

More cultured dairy products, including Icelandic skyr and French-style yogurt, are becoming mainstream, with popularity increasing for convenience-oriented selections, including drinkable yogurts.

Processor PROFILE 

Edina, Minn.-based Crystal Farms Dairy Co., producer of high-quality cheese and butter with dairy sourced from Midwest farms, is known for its commitment to “Farm and Family” by recognizing the hard work of farmers to put food on families' tables.

DAIRY FOODS EXTRA 

With PROOF Hard Ice Cream currently expanding at a blazing pace, corporate executives acknowledge they will soon outgrow its 4,000-square-foot South Carolina plant.

EXPORTER OF THE YEAR  

South Carolina is perhaps where the next great dairy segment has been born: alcohol-infused ice cream. At the forefront of the alcohol-infused ice cream movement is PROOF Hard Ice Cream, led by Jennifer Randall, co-founder and CEO, and Dirk Brown, co-founder and chairman, who founded the start-up in 2014.

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