Now Dean, once hands down the nation’s largest dairy processor, is looking at “strategic alternatives,” including potentially putting itself on the auction block. Many observers saw the real watershed moment for Dean as the 2012 IPO of its WhiteWave unit, maker of the popular Silk soy milk and Horizon Organic milk lines. For years, Dean Foods has faced a number of challenges, including a nationwide decline in consumption of milk from cows as consumers switch to plant-based beverages such as soy milk. At the time of the initial public offering, Dean’s WhiteWave unit was the nation’s largest soy milk maker. These days, Dean sells its own branded dairy milk but also gains revenue from supplying retailers with milk they can put the store label on.

Source: Forbes February 27, 2019 23:15 UTC