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New plant feeds growing Greek yogurt trend

A new plant for Alpina Foods produces primarily Greek yogurt, with a capacity of 39,000 cups/hr, offering capacity for the company’s own brand as well as co-packed products.

Pw 59064 Alpina Greek Black Cherry

Since 2006, U.S. sales of Greek yogurt have been staggering, growing from $60 million a year, according to a 2011 report from NPR, to nearly $4.5 billion in the 52 weeks ending May 13, 2012—a figure from global research provider Mintel. Bringing innovation to a stagnant category, Greek yogurt has become hugely popular among those consumers trying to lead a healthier lifestyle, with its low-fat, low-carb, and high-protein content. However, the biggest driver of consumer sales, at 58%, is taste, reports Mintel.

One company that has perfectly positioned itself to meet the expanding consumer craze for Greek yogurt in the U.S. is Alpina Foods, the U.S. arm of Colombia-based dairy company Alpina Productos Alimenticios S.A. Opening a new, 41,000-sq-ft plant on 10 acres of land in Batavia, NY, in September 2012, Alpina Foods processes and packs its own brand yogurts as well as offers co-packing services, for both Greek and traditional yogurt varieties.

Since the plant finished its first production run in October 2012, business has been so strong that Alpina Foods was forced to add a second filling machine.

“We started out a little faster than I was planning,” says Roger Parkhurst, Director of Operations for Alpina Foods. “We went to a three-shift operation within three months of opening. It’s not what we had originally forecast. It’s a good thing, but it was a challenge.”

Going Greek
Alpina is a Swiss-born company whose founders settled in Colombia in 1945 to craft artisan cheeses. Today the company offers more than 500 consumer products, including baby foods, juices, desserts, cheeses, smoothies, and yogurts to South American and U.S. consumers. In 2009, the company opened a U.S. headquarters in Miami, an area chosen for its robust Hispanic population. The Batavia yogurt facility is Alpina Foods’ first U.S. production operation.

“The plant was not originally supposed to be for Greek yogurt,” explains Parkhurst. “The primary product was going to be a traditional yogurt, Bon Yurt, which is the number one-selling yogurt in Colombia. We also had a Greek line called Revive.

“However, when our salespeople went out and started to promote the products, they found that customers didn’t even want to spend time with them unless they had a Greek yogurt. So we had to restructure our focus and make Revive our dominant rather than our secondary product.

“The nice thing was that we weren’t established here in the U.S. as a non-Greek yogurt company, so we didn’t have to change consumers’ mindsets.”

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