The brand will expand its Londonderry, New Hampshire plant by 17,000sq.ft to allow the company to double its pouch output, adding capacity for the production of around 46 million additional pouches per year.
“Stonyfield set the standard for organic yogurt pouches many years ago, and they continue to be our most in demand product,” commented Bill Cassidy, CEO of Stonyfield Organic. “This expansion will accelerate our production of our yogurt pouches and add 35% to our total pouch network to increase accessibility for our consumers.”
According to a company announcement, work is already underway, with the building shell expected to be completed by the end of June and the new yogurt pouch production lines will be operational in October 2023. The new wing of the facility is set to be unveiled during the company’s 40th anniversary celebrations and will be dedicated to co-founder Samuel Kaymen.
USDA announces $104m in ODMAP payments for organic dairies
According to Statista, more than 94m Americans consumed organic foods as of 2020, of which around a third (31.m) regularly bought yogurt in 2020, making it the most consumed organic food after meat and poultry. Consumers aged up to 29 are more likely to purchase organic foods, with the share of Americans over 30 who prefer organic foods almost half of that of younger consumers.
Meanwhile, US organic dairies have faced significant cost increases as feed and transportation costs, alongside limited availability of organic grans, has put pressure on producer in recent months.
Earlier this month, the USDA announced it will make $104m available through ODMAP – the Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program - to organic dairy operations to assist them with projected marketing costs in 2023. The program provides a one-time cost-share payment based on marketing costs on pounds of organic milk marketed in the 2022 calendar year.
Applications for ODMAP are open through to July 26, 2023 – find out more about the application process through your local USDA service center.
Stonyfield senior director of sustainability and government affairs, Britt Lundgren, said: “The costs facing organic dairy today are uncommon and putting serious strain on operations. USDA is right to step in and offer support, and this is a good first step. The alternative is we lose family farmers. We look forward to working with USDA to cover more of the actual costs organic dairies are facing.”