Dairy Giant Dean Foods Looks to Vegan Brands to Raise Profits

Dairy company Dean Foods announced a plan this month to refocus its business on its plant-based holdings, particularly vegan flax-based milk and yogurt brand Good Karma Foods. In 2017, Dean Foods made a minority stake investment in Good Karma and increased its investment in the vegan brand this July to become the majority stakeholder. In May, Dean Foods discontinued its contracts with dozens of its milk suppliers after reporting a 91-percent decrease in its third fiscal quarter of 2017. “We want to be back in the plant-based business,” Dean Foods CEO Ralph P. Scozzafava said. “We think Good Karma is a platform for us. And I will remind everyone that was here, remember how small Silk was when this company brought it in-house many years ago. Just keep in mind that with the playbook for Good Karma, we’ll look a lot like that, and that’s our commitment.” As dairy consumption continues to decline, savvy companies are taking advantage of the growing plant-based milk industry, including Elmhurst which ceased operations as a dairy company in 2016 and transformed into a successful nut milk-based brand last year.