Nourishing bodies and souls
We take around 10% of the U.S. milk supply and turn it into food and beverages that fuel better lives –nutritious, wholesome, and flavorful at the same time.
We bring fresh, wholesome food and beverages from the farm to your refrigerator.
Our Story
We bring fresh, wholesome food and beverages from the farm to your refrigerator.
A lifetime of nutrition
More than 80 years ago, Dean Foods was born in America’s heartland. Since then, the world has changed beyond belief. But from our first milk delivery to life in the digital age, we’ve maintained a refreshingly simple passion: bringing nutritious, wholesome food and beverages to every occasion.
Today, we’ve grown to become an industry leader and our products are welcome guests in homes and restaurant kitchens across the nation.
Goodness in every moment
From breakfast to bedtime, from baby showers to retirement parties, we make products for every occasion.
Nourishing communities
With local sourcing, we keep things natural – and play a role in in supporting farmers, strengthening the economy, and bringing communities together.
A proven past
From a single location to the largest direct-to-store milk distributor in the United States, dairy has fueled our success just as it fuels healthy lives.
1925
Samuel E. Dean Sr.
Samuel E. Dean Sr. purchases the Pecatonica Marketing Company, an evaporated milk processing facility located in northwestern Illinois.
1963
Dean Foods Company
Celebrating decades of success, the company is renamed. Dean Foods Company is born.
1993
Bringing the dairy industry together
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, Suiza Foods makes its first dairy acquisition, marking a new era in the highly fragmented dairy industry.
2001
Suiza Foods acquires Dean Foods
Now the biggest processor and distributor of dairy products, Suiza Foods acquires Dean Foods, soon adopting the much-loved Dean Foods brand.
2006
Taking goodness beyond the pail
Dean Foods issues its first corporate responsibility report.
2016
Bringing dairy to every moment
Expanding our range of brands, Dean Foods acquires Friendly’s® and embarks on a successful joint venture with Organic Valley®.
2017
Expanding our products
Dean Foods invests in Good Karma® and Uncle Matt’s Organic®.
- Drag to discover1925
- 1963
- 1993
- 2001
- 2006
- 2016
- 2017
Delicious, naturally
Mother Nature makes the most wholesome food around. So from our relationships with farmers to the way our products are prepared, we’re always taking cues from the way she’s been doing things for years.
Bringing nutrition to every home
At Dean Foods, we’re proud to be one of the nation’s largest distributors of dairy products. But, more than that, we’re proud our food and beverages are welcome guests in homes and refrigerators across the nation.
Across more than 50 brands, we distribute fluid milk, ice cream, cultured products, juices, teas, bottled water and more. There’s something to enrich every moment – and every life – with fresh, wholesome goodness and delicious taste.
Our team includes around 16,000 people in dairies across the country.
And our milk comes from around 930,000 cows, who also deserve a great deal of the credit.
With
and
Dean Foods sells almost 10 million cartons of nutritious milk to schools on every school day.
A healthy future
Beyond enriching lives, we believe Dean Foods can play an important role in enriching communities, good causes and the environment.
Environmental sustainability
We’re driven to do right by the environment by committing to large-scale sustainability efforts.
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Social responsibility
From dairy stewardship to employee safety, the goodness goes far beyond the products we sell.
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Corporate philanthropy
Through the Dean Foods Foundation, we take our responsibility to communities seriously.
Learn more
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25 iconic regional and national brands