Horizon Organic Founder Launches New Organic Dairy Company

Organic dairy is one of the fastest growing segments of the organic industry, but it could be growing even faster if it was less expensive. The higher price of organic products is still the biggest barrier to the sector gaining market share. That may change now, since Mark Retzloff, who co-founded Horizon Organic, the largest organic dairy company in the U.S., has launched a new organic dairy company. Aurora Organic Dairy, based in Platteville, Colorado, will be the first in the U.S. to produce and sell private-label organic milk.

Most milk sold today is private label.

Retzloff is joined by Marc Peperzak, formerly chair of Horizon’s board and CEO of Aurora Dairy Corporation, one of the nations largest conventional dairy farms. Charlesbank Capital Partners of Boston is investing $18.5 million in the new company to expand the farm, convert the 5,000-cow herd to certified organic milk production and build a processing plant. Headwaters MB, a Denver banking firm, brokered the deal and also invested.

The dairy farm received organic certification in December, and Retzloff expects the processing plant to be operational by mid-summer. The company is converting about 30,000 acres to organic pasture and cropland to produce feed for the cattle.

Natural Foods Merchandiser quotes Phil Seefried, managing partner of Headwaters as saying, This represents one of the most significant growth initiatives by an organic foods business in the United States,”

Aurora plans to maintain low cost by keeping production and milk processing at the same place, eliminating transportation costs. If were not the lowest priced, well be one of the lowest in the organic milk industry, says Retzloff in the article.

“The entire retail marketplace, is a target customer according to Retzloff, including supermarkets and institutional food service businesses, such as restaurants, resorts and college cafeterias.

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