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The milk brand in the U.S. is The Dannon Company, with a revenue of $29.144 billion.
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The U.S. dairy market has a market size of $310.07 billion in 2023.
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The average American drinks 18 gallons of milk per year.
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The U.S. dairy market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.96% through 2026.
Milk is one of the most sought-after products in the United States and has been for quite some time. In 1925, the United States had 1.5-2 million dairy cows that produced an average of 4200 pounds of milk per year.
By 2007, there were 9.1 million dairy cows with an average of over 20,000 pounds of milk per year, with eight pounds per gallon. As of 1995, there were 40,200 dairy farms in the United States. The top five dairy states are California, Wisconsin, New York, Idaho, and Texas.
In recent decades, the consumption of dairy in the United States has risen faster than the growth in population. However, this may be due to other products and not necessarily the consumption of fluid milk. Despite this, milk remains a staple product in American refrigerators. Below, we discuss the top ten largest milk brands in the United States.
DETAILED LIST OF THE 10 LARGEST MILK BRANDS In The United States
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Private Label
Annual Revenue (2021): $199 billion
Private label milk is sold under a store’s label or brand name but is often produced by a third-party company. Private Label allows brands to offer their on-brand products without developing recipes or methods of producing their goods. The recipes for private-label milk products are created and owned by the company that manufactures the milk.
In the evolution of private-label fresh products, milk has provided a long history of opportunity for retail chains. Many retailers across the country have developed private label programs in dairy that consumers associate with quality and value. Retailers are focused on developing their brand.
Private-label milk has close to 100% household penetration, with three-quarters of all sales containing a private-label product, the most common of which is fluid milk. As of 2000, 70% of all fluid milk sales were private-label in the United States. Private labels allow retailers to offer a cheaper price without sacrificing quality for their consumers.
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The Dannon company Denver, Colorado
Annual Revenue (2022): $29.144 billion
Formed in 1942, when founder Daniel Carasso brought his family business to the United States and founded Dannon Milk Products, Dannon became the first American yogurt company.
Eventually, Danone became the first national fresh dairy brand and continued to expand. In 2018, Danone achieved B Corp Certification, ahead of its 2020 goal. They are the largest public benefit corporation (PBC) and Certified B Corp in the world.
Companies with B Corp Certifications are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, supplies, community, and the environment. Danone joined a group of almost 4,000 other companies across 50 different industries.
Danone offers a variety of products, with their most notable brands including Activia, DanACtive, Danimals, Dannon, Danonino, Horizon Organic, International Delight, Left Field Farms, Light + Fit, Oikos, Silk, So Delicious, Stok, Two Goods, Vega, Wallaby Organic, YoCrunch, and cream.
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Annual Revenue (2021): $19.3 billion
Dean Foods is an American food and beverage company and is considered the largest dairy subsidiary in the United States. With 66 manufacturing facilities in 32 U.S. states, Dean Foods distributes its products across all 50 states.
Their most notable brands include DairyPure, Land O’Lakes, TruMoo, Friendly’s, Mayfield, Dean’s, Meadow Gold, Tuscan, T.G. Lee, and Alta Dena. Founded by Samuel E. Dean Sr. in the 1920s, the company quickly grew from a small regional dairy organization into a diversified food company.
Among their milk products, Dean Foods also offers products including ice cream, dairy products, cheese, juice, and teas. Unfortunately, in 2019, the company filed for bankruptcy, citing the decline in cow’s milk consumption due to plant milk demand. Most recently, in 2020, Dean Foods was acquired by the Dairy Farmers of America.
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Prairie Farms Dairy. Edwardsville, Illinois
Annual Revenue (2022): $3.4 billion
This dairy cooperative was founded in Carlinville, Illinois, in 1938. As a dairy cooperative, the organization receives its milk product from producers and converts it into different products that include cheese, butter, ice cream, sour cream, cottage cheese, dips, yogurt, and fluid milk.
It also sells juices, flavored drinks, and iced tea. Prairie Farms receives milk from over 900 producers and operates 44 manufacturing plants and 100 distribution facilities. This company is nationally recognized as a leader in the dairy industry and is known to have set the standard for milk flavor innovations.
Prairie Farms products are available in grocery chains, mass merchandiser stores, club stores, convenience stores, dollar stores, drug stores, schools, foodservice outlets, and warehouse distribution centers.
It currently distributes products to 16 states across the United States, including Michigan, Kansas, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas, North Carolina, Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, South Dakota, and Mississippi.
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Hood Lactaid. Lynnfield, Massachusetts
Annual Revenue (2022): $2.7 billion
HP Hood LLC sometimes referred to as Hood Lactaid, is an American dairy company that was founded in 1846 by Harvey Perley Hood. The company expanded rapidly from New England to the broader United States.
HP Hood is independently owned and listed on Forbes America’s Largest Private Companies list. The company has made a number of notable acquisitions, including Crowley Foods, Crystal Cream and Butter Company, Brigham’s Ice Cream, and more.
Some of their most famous brands include Hood, SImply Smart, Calorie Countdown, Crowley Foods, Lactaid, Hershey’s milk and milkshakes, Blue Diamond Almond Breeze, and Southern Comfort Eggnog.
Though Lactaid has been produced by HP Hood since 1997, it is currently considered a brand of McNeil Nutritionals. The company’s products include milk, cottage cheese, sour cream, cream, ice cream, eggnog, frozen goods, frozen yogurt, among other things.
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Borden Dairy company. Dallas, Texas
Annual Revenue (2022): $1.4 billion
Founded in 1857, this American dairy processor and distributor is a privately owned company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company produces and distributes milk, cream, buttermilk, dips, sour cream, cottage cheese, juices, tea, eggnog, and other things.
Milk Products, LLC licenses the Borden name and Elsie the Cow trademark from Borden Inc’s successor company. Elsie the Cow is the Borden Dairy Company “spokescow” that is used for the label on their products. She was first introduced in 1936 as one of four cartoon cows that ran in a series of advertisements.
In 2000, Advertising Age recognized Elsie the Cow as one of the top 10 advertising icons of all time. Borden Dairy has gone through a series of acquisitions and spin-offs. Their products are available in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas.
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Organic Valley. La Farge, Wisconsin
Annual Revenue (2022): $1.2 billion
This organic food brand and independent cooperative of organic farms were founded in 1988. Organic Valley is the largest farmer-owned organic cooperative and one of the world’s largest organic consumer brands.
The company produces milk, cheese, eggs, soy, protein shakes, butter, yogurt, organic snack items, and more. The cooperative brand markets organic beef, pork, chicken, and turkey products as well.
The business markets products in all 50 states across the US and exports to 25 countries. The farmer-owners all specialize in sustainable, organic agriculture practices. In 2009, Organic Valley partnered with Stonyfield Farm and HP Hood, agreeing to license the Stonyfield fluid milk brand and manage sales and distribution.
This also allowed farmers supplying the milk to participate in the cooperative as of January 1, 2010. In March 2017, Organic Valley announced the creation of Organic Valley Fresh, a 50:50 venture with Dean Foods to expand the brand presence by leveraging Dean Foods’ distribution network.
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All Fairlife. Chicago, Illinois
Annual Revenue (2022): $1 billion
Fairlife (stylized as fa!rlife) is a brand of ultrafiltered milk beneath the parent company, the Coca-Cola Company. The company offers milk in five varieties, including reduced fat, chocolate, strawberry, fat-free, and whole milk.
Their differentiator lies in their filtration process. The process was developed by Sue McCloskey and her husband, Mike McCloskey. The ultrafiltration process removes the lactose and much of the sugar of the liquid milk, leaving more protein and calcium in the final product.
The product itself was launched after they entered into a partnership with The Coca-Cola Company, first appearing in Minnesota in 2014. The cost of Fairlife is at least double that of conventional milk, averaging at about $4.29 per 52 oz, compared to the national average of conventional milk at 2 per 64 oz.
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Hiland dairy. Springfield, Missouri
Annual Revenue (2022): $632.8 million
Hiland Dairy Foods has been in business for over 30 years. The organization is owned by local dairy farmers who provide fresh milk for Hiland dairy products. From each of their dairy plants, Hiland has farmer-owners readily available.
They are a full-service dairy company, providing consumers with milk, buttermilk, eggnog, ice cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream and dips, half and half, whipping cream, butter, and cheese.
They also provide juices, lemonades, fruit punch, ice teas, smoothies, ice coffees, lactose-free milk, organic milk, almond milk, and soy milk. The business has retail locations across the Midwest, including Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas.
Hiland has won a number of awards for their products, including Sustainability Excellence in Manufacturing, Quality Chekd, and Championship Dairy Product from the World Dairy Expo.
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Cream-O-Land dairy. Florence, New Jersey
Annual Revenue (2022): $290.6 million
Founded by Samuel Schneier in 1943 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Cream-O-Land began delivering fresh dairy products to small local grocery stores and homes. His family worked for Samuel after school and on the weekends, helping with sales, bookkeeping, and other responsibilities.
Today, Cream-O-Land is still family-owned and has upgraded to refrigerated trucks. They service grocery stores, supermarkets, schools, and colleges throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Florida, and The Bahamas.
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Milk Industry Statistics FAQ
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How much milk do Americans drink?
The average American drinks 18 gallons of milk per year. That’s over 6 oz, or just under 1 cup of milk per day.
While this might seem like a lot, it’s actually a significant decrease from the peak per person consumption of 45 gallons per person in 1945. This shows just how much milk drinking has declined over the decades.
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Why is the dairy industry declining?
There are many reasons why the dairy industry is declining, from the pandemic to consumer preferences. The fact is that milk consumption is 42% from a half-century ago. Here are some of the core reasons why less and less people are buying and drinking milk:
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The pandemic disrupted production and increased milk price volatility
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Younger generations are turning away from milk for environmental and ethical reasons, in favor of non-dairy alternatives
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General environmental concerns about cattle farming
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What is the most expensive state to buy milk?
The most expensive state to buy milk is Hawaii. In Hawaii milk costs an average of $4.69, or over half a dollar above the national average.
Other states with high milk prices include Alaska ($3.78), Alabama ($3.75), Louisiana ($3.65), and Mississippi ($3.59).
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What is the least expensive state to buy milk?
The most expensive state to buy milk is Illinois. In Illinois milk costs an average of $0.93, which is far below the national average, and the only state with milk under a dollar.
Other states with low milk prices include Connecticut ($1.35), Ohio ($1.48), Indiana ($1.49), and Idaho ($1.69).
Author
Caitlin Mazur is a freelance writer at Zippia. Caitlin is passionate about helping Zippia’s readers land the jobs of their dreams by offering content that discusses job-seeking advice based on experience and extensive research. Caitlin holds a degree in English from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA.
