![]() | |
Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Food |
Founded | May 27, 1980 [1] |
Founder | Vandemoortele Groep |
Headquarters | , |
Key people | Sue Garfitt (CEO) |
Products | |
Number of employees | 1,100 (2017) [2] |
Parent | Danone |
Website | alpro |
Footnotes /references [3] |
Alpro is a European company based in Ghent, [4] Belgium, that markets organic and non-organic, non-genetically modified, [5] [6] plant-based products, such as foods and drinks made from soy, almonds, hazelnuts, cashew, rice, oats or coconut. [7] [8] [9] Alpro employs over 1,200 people in Europe and has three production facilities in Belgium, France and the United Kingdom. Alpro markets its products in Europe and beyond with the majority of its business in Europe. [10] [11]
Alpro was founded in 1980, as a subsidiary of the Vandemoortele Groep, which is based in Belgium. Alpro expanded across Europe and in 2000 built a soy milk plant in Burton Latimer, England. [12]
In 2008, Alpro launched the UK's first "reduced calorie soya alternative to yogurt" following the introduction of its Soy Light "reduced calorie soya milk" in 2006. [13]
Alpro's revenues are reported to have tripled during the period from 2000 to 2008. In 2009, beverages made up two-thirds of Alpro's revenues. [14]
In June 2009, Vandemoortele sold Alpro for an estimated US$455 million to Dean Foods, [15] [16] which marketed the "Silk" soy milk brand in the US. [17]
In June 2013, WhiteWave, the Dean Foods subsidiary that managed Alpro, was spun-off as an independent company – listing on the New York Stock Exchange. [18] In July 2013, Dean Foods sold their remaining 19.9% stake in WhiteWave, thus ending their involvement with Alpro. [19]
In July 2016, it was announced that the French company Danone would purchase WhiteWave Foods for $10.4 billion. [20] The acquisition was completed in April 2017 and newly formed company is named "DanoneWave". [21]
In 2020, Alpro's No Sugars oatmilk won the Lausanne Index Prize – Supreme Award, a processed food prize. [22]
Alpro's general manager is Sue Garfitt. [23]
Alpro distributes soya based vegan products under the brands Belsoy, Alpro Soya and Provamel. Products include soya milk, [24] soy yogurt, soya cream and soya based desserts, plant-based margarines and plant-based ice cream. All products are made from either non-GM soya, almonds, hazelnuts, cashew, rice, oats or coconut.
The Provamel brand is reserved exclusively for organic products (including many organic versions of Alpro Soya products), which are intended for sale only by independent health food retailers. [25]
Alpro soya milk scored best (out of 16 tested different plain soy milks), when rated by Germany's leading consumer safety group Stiftung Warentest. [26] [27]
Other Alpro products include yogurt as well as "dessert and meat alternative products". [14]
To demonstrate Alpro's milk and yogurt alternatives, a year-long experiential marketing campaign gave consumers in the UK the opportunity to sample the breakfast menu products at various events and shopping centres around the country. [28] [29] Alpro also encouraged visitors to have their photo taken at the internet pod on the stand and upload it to Facebook, thereby joining the Alpro Soya Facebook page. [30]
Yogurt is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its texture and characteristic tart flavor. Cow's milk is most commonly used to make yogurt. Milk from water buffalo, goats, ewes, mares, camels, and yaks is also used to produce yogurt. The milk used may be homogenized or not. It may be pasteurized or raw. Each type of milk produces substantially different results.
Danone S.A. is a French multinational food-products corporation based in Paris. It was founded in 1919 in Barcelona, Spain. It is listed on Euronext Paris, where it is a component of the CAC 40 stock market index. Some of the company's products are branded Dannon in the United States.
Soy milk, also known as soya milk or soymilk, is a plant-based drink produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a stable emulsion of oil, water, and protein. Its original form is an intermediate product of the manufacture of tofu. Originating in China, it became a common beverage in Europe and North America in the latter half of the 20th century, especially as production techniques were developed to give it a taste and consistency more closely resembling that of dairy milk. Soy milk may be used as a substitute for dairy milk by individuals who are vegan or lactose intolerant.
Breyers is a brand of ice cream started in 1866 by William A. Breyer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Plant milk is a plant beverage with a color resembling that of milk. Plant milks are non-dairy beverages made from a water-based plant extract for flavoring and aroma. Plant milks are consumed as alternatives to dairy milk, and may provide a creamy mouthfeel.
Silk is an American brand of dairy-substitute products currently owned by Danone after it purchased WhiteWave Foods in 2016.
Dean Foods was an American food and beverage company and the largest dairy company in the United States. The company's products included milk, ice cream, dairy products, cheese, juice, and teas. It processed milk in the United States under a number of regional and national brands. Founded in 1925, the company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 2019, and its assets were acquired by several buyers in 2020.
Horizon Organic is an American company, founded in 1991, that produces organic milk and other organic food products. Horizon Organic is the largest supplier of organic milk in North America. Its products are sold in supermarkets and grocery stores. Horizon produces organic milk in Maryland and also purchases the majority of its organic milk from more than 700 dairies in 23 states.
Stonyfield Farm, also simply called Stonyfield, is an organic yogurt maker and dairy company located in Londonderry, New Hampshire, United States. 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.
Soy yogurt, also referred to as soya yogurt, soygurt or yofu, is a yogurt-like product made with soy milk.
Organic Valley (OV) is an organic food brand and independent cooperative of organic farmers based in La Farge, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1988 and it is the largest farmer owned organic collective in North America.
MimicCreme was a brand of vegan imitation cream based on nuts and made without lactose, soy, or gluten. It was certified as pareve kosher. First produced commercially in January 2007 in Albany, New York, by Green Rabbit LLC, MimicCreme was primarily marketed toward vegans as an alternative to dairy products. The company website indicates that the company closed in November 2013 due to no longer having access to an appropriate production facility.
Groupe Lactalis S.A. is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A.
Lifeway Foods is an Illinois based health food company founded in 1986. They are a leading U.S. supplier of kefir and fermented probiotic products to support the microbiome.
Mr Bean Group Limited is a Singapore-based retailer that specializes in soybean-based food and drink products. The company was founded in 1995 as a hawker stall that sold soy milk and soy beancurd, and has since expanded its product line and retail presence.
Plamil Foods Is a British manufacturer of vegan food products. Founded in 1965, the company has produced and pioneered soy milk, egg-free mayonnaise, pea-based milk, yogurts, confection bars and chocolate.
Danone North America is a consumer packaged food and beverage company based in White Plains, New York, U.S, that manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells branded premium dairy products, plant-based foods and beverages, coffee creamers, and organic produce throughout North America and Europe.
Vegan cheese is a category of non-dairy, plant-based cheese analogues. Vegan cheeses range from soft fresh cheeses to aged and cultured hard grateable cheeses like plant-based Parmesan. The defining characteristic of vegan cheese is the exclusion of all animal products.