Horizon Purchases Organic Cow Brand

Horizon Organic Holding Corporation (Longmont, CO), an organic milk producer, has purchased The Organic Cow brand from the H.P. Hood Co. (Chelsea, MA). The Organic Cow (Tunbridge, VT), founded in 1990, was the first major organic dairy in the region with product lines including milk, cream, cottage cheese, sour cream and butter. Its products are distributed throughout New England and in other East Coast areas. Hood became the majority shareholder of The Organic Cow in 1997.

"Acquiring The Organic Cow brand is key to our continued national growth and to our expansion in New England," said Barney Feinblum, president and CEO of Horizon. "Most importantly, we look forward to working with rural communities in New England to expand organic dairy farming in the region."

Feinblum also noted that Horizon plans to further develop Horizon Organic branded dairy products in the Northeast while simultaneously expanding The Organic Cow brand along the eastern seaboard and in markets further west. Also, under the terms of the transaction, H.P. Hood will distribute both The Organic Cow and Horizon Organic dairy products along the East Coast.

Peter Flint, co-founder of The Organic Cow of Vermont, noted that Horizon's purchase of The Organic Cow will result in greater economies of scale, partly due to Horizon's plan to combine its current organic milk supplies with milk from The Organic Cow's farmers. Additionally, Horizon's established network of contracted milk suppliers, processors and distributors will provide for more efficient use of organic milk supplies and distribution of organic dairy products to consumers both in the Northeast as well as nationally.