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| Founded | 1983; 42 years ago (1983) |
|---|---|
| Founder | Samuel Kaymen, Louise Kaymen |
| Headquarters | Londonderry, New Hampshire, United States |
| Products | Yogurt, ice cream, milk, dairy products |
| Website | stonyfield |
Stonyfield Farm, also simply called Stonyfield, is an organic yogurt maker located in Londonderry, New Hampshire, USA. Stonyfield Farm was founded by Samuel Kaymen in 1983, on a 19th-century farmstead in Wilton, New Hampshire, as an organic farming school. The company makes the second leading brand of organic yogurt in North America, with 13.3% of the market.
In 2001, Groupe Danone, a French food product company whose brands include Evian bottled water and Danone/Dannon yogurt, purchased an initial 40% of Stonyfield shares. This was followed with additional purchases such that Group Danone owned the entire company by 2014.
Gary Hirshberg is chairman and former president and CEO of Stonyfield Farm.
Through its Profits for the Planet program, Stonyfield gives 10% of profits to environmental causes. Its milk comes from New England and Midwest dairy farmers through the CROPP (Organic Valley) cooperative.
In 2003, Stonyfield Farm acquired Brown Cow.
In 2006, Stonyfield entered the French market with its Les 2 Vaches (The Two Cows) brand. It also expanded to Canada, with yogurt produced in Quebec. In June 2007, Stonyfield Farm launched its first brand in the UK, Stony, Yogurt on a Mission, though the line has since been discontinued. An organic yogurt brand named Glenisk, however, was successfully launched in Ireland.
On March 31, 2017, Groupe Danone announced its intention to sell the Stonyfield subsidiary to avoid anti-trust claims and to clear the way for the acquisition of more significant U.S. organic food producer WhiteWave Foods. In July 2017 it was announced that Danone had agreed to sell Stonyfield to Lactalis for $875 million. The sale was completed and Stonyfield is now entirely owned by a second French dairy giant.
Controversies
Clinton Campaign
Wikileaks revealed extensive communication between Stonyfield chairman Gary Hirshberg and John Podesta, the chairman of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. After Hirshberg raised $400,000 for the campaign, he threatened to withdraw his support unless Clinton delivered a strong message in support of GMO labeling. Clinton subsequently tweeted her approval of the defeat of an anti-labeling measure, eliciting an email from Hirshberg to Podesta with the subject "Thanks for whatever role you might have had in this,” linking to Clinton’s tweet. Hirshberg founded the "Just Label It" campaign to promote mandatory labeling of foods containing ingredients produced from seeds created by some forms of genetic modification.
Reduction in Added Sugar
High sugar content is a concern in foods targeted to children, as Stonyfield's are, so the company announced a plan to reduce added sugars by 25% in its yogurt line in 2017.
Scientifically Inaccurate Advertising
In January 2018, Stonyfield launched an anti-GMO campaign featuring children reading scripted messages of questionable validity. One child declares GMOs "monsterous"; another claims there are fish genes in tomatoes when no such tomato is on the market; and a final child reads from cue cards. In response to criticism of this ad on their Facebook page, Stonyfield deleted comments, blocked responders, and labeled critics as "trolls" who had violated the company's terms of use.
References
- Cornal, Jim (2017-07-02). "Lactalis buying Stonyfield from Danone for $875m". Dairy Reporter. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
...Stonyfield is the second leading brand for organic dairy-based yogurt in North America with 13.3% of the market.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - Brown Cow's Tale
- Stonyfield Farm - Canada - Company Profile
- Reuters (March 31, 2017). "Danone to sell Stonyfield unit as part of WhiteWave deal". CNBC. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
{{cite news}}:|author=has generic name (help) - Beth Kowitt. "Danone's Stonyfield Sale Is the Latest Twist in the Yogurt Wars". Fortune. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
- Tom Philpott. "Hillary Clinton Is in Thrall to America's Yogurt Overlord". Mother Jones. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- Dear Food Company Leaders
- Kimberly Leonard. "Leaked Emails Show Organic Yogurt Producer Pushed Clinton on GMO Labeling". US News & World Report. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- Wikileaks emails between Podesta and Hirshberg
- Beth Kowitt. "Stonyfield Gives Its Yogurt a Makeover". Fortune. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- Stonyfield Organic Kids: What are GMOs?
- Mary Ellen Shoup. "Stonyfield Organic under fire over portrayal of GMOs in YouTube video". Dairy Reporter. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
- Sonja Begemann. "Stonyfield Organics Deletes Pro-GMO Comments". Ag Pro. Retrieved February 4, 2018.