Dean Foods will place all of its regional milk labels, including Mayfield Dairy, under one brand as part of a move to boost its business and tout the quality of its product.
The Dallas-based company, the largest U.S. milk processor with 36 percent of all U.S. milk sales, will start using the label "DairyPure" for its 31 brands of milk. The new label will be in addition to regional labels such as Mayfield, the 105-year-old dairy brand based in Athens, Tenn.
The Dean Foods Mayfield label.The new DairyPure label includes the company guarantee that all milk is tested for antibiotics and for purity, all milk comes from cows fed a healthy diet that doesn't include growth hormones and all milk is shipped fresh from local dairies, Dean Foods officials said in announcing the new labeling Monday.
Dean Foods has built up its business partly by acquiring local brands.
Among its stable of brands are Mayfield, Tuscan, Garelick Farms and PET Dairy.
It spun off its WhiteWave brand, which makes Silk almond milk and other products, in 2013.
Dean also sold its Morningstar Foods division, which makes coffee creamers, sour cream and other products, in 2013.
The milk producer reported a $20.3 million loss in 2014 as it then dealt with high raw milk prices.
Milk prices have declined recently as production has risen and exports have decreased.
Dean Foods and its peers are also contending with a general decline in milk consumption across the nation.
The company has been closing plants over the last several years. It closed 12 production facilities in 2014.
It currently operates 68 facilities in 32 states.
As of Dec.31, it had 17,246 employees.
Dean Foods bought Mayfield Dairy in 1990.
Mayfield Dairy dates its history back to 1910, when T.B. Mayfield Jr. purchased some Jersey cows and started his business.
Sons Scott and Tom took over the business after World War II and introduced a number of new technologies, including the Vacurator that ensured the milk always tasted fresh in 1955, a tamper-proof ice cream container in 1962 and the "scround" ice cream carton design that has become an industry standard in 1998.
Mayfield Milk is sold in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Virginia and North and South Carolina.