 | |
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food manufacturing |
| Founded | 1950 |
| Headquarters | Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
Key people | James Leprino (founder, chairman & CEO) Mike Durkin (President) |
| Products | Dairy ingredients |
Number of employees | 4,000+ (2014) |
| Website | www.leprinofoods.com |
Leprino Foods is an American company with headquarters in Denver, Colorado that produces cheese, lactose, whey protein and sweet whey. [1] [2] It is the world's largest maker of mozzarella cheese. [3]
Leprino Foods was founded by James Leprino's father Mike Leprino in 1950 as a family-owned market selling grocery items and handmade cheese in Denver. [1] [2] It was first sold under the Gina Marie brand. [1] Leprino Foods has facilities in Waverly, New York; Remus, Michigan; Allendale, Michigan; Greeley, Colorado; Fort Morgan, Colorado; Roswell, New Mexico; Singapore; Tracy, California; and Lemoore, California. [2] It operates plants in Brazil (PicNic brand), Northern Ireland and Wales. [2] The company's cheeses include mozzarella, reduced-fat Monterey jack, provolone, reduced-fat cheddar and various cheese blends, mainly for pizzeria and foodservice operators, frozen food manufacturers and private label cheese packagers. Leprino supplies cheese to 85% of the pizza market, including Pizza Hut, Domino's, Little Caesars, Papa John's, Hungry Howie's, Tombstone, Tony's, Jack's, and Digiorno. Their cheese and products are also used by Hot Pockets, Stouffer's, Smart Ones, and other products used in Yoplait yogurt, Pillsbury Toaster Strudel, and baby formula. Leprino is the US's largest exporter of lactose. They sell one billion pounds of cheese per year for $3 billion. [4]
In 2009, it was ranked by Forbes as the 165th largest private company in the United States. [5]
Mozzarella is a southern Italian semi-soft, non-aged cheese traditionally made from Italian buffalo's milk by the pasta filata method.
Pizza cheese encompasses several varieties and types of cheeses and dairy products that are designed and manufactured for use specifically on pizza. These include processed and modified cheese such as mozzarella-like processed cheeses and mozzarella variants. The term can also refer to any type of cheese suitable for use on pizza. The most popular cheeses used in the preparation of pizza are mozzarella, provolone, cheddar and Parmesan. Emmental, Romano and ricotta are often used as toppings, and processed pizza cheeses manufactured specifically for pizza are mass-produced. Some mass-produced pizza cheeses are frozen after manufacturing and shipped frozen.
Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard cheese, like cheddar or Swiss cheese. Acid whey is a byproduct brought out during the making of acid types of dairy products, such as strained yogurt.
Papa John's International, Inc., d/b/a Papa Johns, is an American pizza restaurant chain. It is the fourth largest pizza delivery restaurant chain in the United States, with headquarters in the Louisville, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan areas.
Glanbia plc is a better nutrition company home to ingredients and consumer brands that help people around the world to live full, healthy lives. Glanbia is headquartered in Kilkenny, Ireland with over 6,000 employees in over 30 countries around the world. It uses insight-and science-led innovation to create healthier, smarter products that meet the ever-evolving needs of consumers and partners. It has leading market positions in performance and lifestyle brands and dairy and non-dairy solutions, including cheese, nutritional and functional nutrition solutions and flavour solutions. Glanbia Performance Nutrition is the no.1 sports nutrition company in the world. Glanbia Nutritionals is the #1 global supplier of whey protein isolate. Glanbia’s consumer brands and ingredients are sold or distributed in over 130 countries. North America is the company’s largest market, and it also has a presence in Europe, Middle East,, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Glanbia's primary listing is on Euronext Dublin. Glanbia comprises three divisions; Glanbia Nutritionals, Glanbia Performance Nutrition and Joint Ventures.
Processed cheese is a food product made from cheese and unfermented dairy ingredients mixed with emulsifiers. Additional ingredients, such as vegetable oils, salt, food coloring, or sugar may be included. As a result, many flavors, colors, and textures of processed cheese exist. Processed cheese typically contains around 50 to 60% cheese and 40 to 50% other ingredients.
Whey protein is a mixture of proteins isolated from whey, the liquid material created as a by-product of cheese production. The proteins consist of α-lactalbumin, β-lactoglobulin, serum albumin and immunoglobulins. Glycomacropeptide also makes up the third largest component but is not a protein. Whey protein is commonly marketed as a protein supplement, and various health claims have been attributed to it. A review published in 2010 in the European Food Safety Authority Journal concluded that the provided literature did not adequately support the proposed claims. For muscle growth, whey protein has been shown to be slightly better compared to other types of protein, such as casein or soy.
Stuffed crust pizza is pizza with cheese or other ingredients added into the outer edge of the crust. The stuffed crust pizza was popularized by Pizza Hut, which debuted this style of pizza in 1995.
Hilmar Cheese Company is a cheese and whey products manufacturer headquartered in Hilmar, California, United States. The privately owned company has over 1000 employees and specializes in the mass production of Monterey jack, pepper jack, colby, colby-jack, flavored jacks, mozzarella, Hispanic and cheddar cheese. As of 2011, Hilmar Cheese processes two million gallons of milk per day, producing over two million pounds of cheese per day. The company's Hilmar facility produces more cheese per year from a single site than any other cheese manufacturer in the world.
The history of pizza begins in antiquity, as various ancient cultures produced basic flatbreads with several toppings.
Cheese analogues are products used as culinary replacements for cheese. They are usually products made by blending cheaper fats or proteins and used in convenience foods. The category includes vegan cheeses as well as some dairy-containing products that do not qualify as true cheeses, such as processed cheese. These foods may be intended as replacements for cheese, as with vegan products, or as imitations, as in the case of products used for salad bars and pizza-making, which are generally intended to be mistaken for real cheese, but have properties such as different melting points or lower costs that make them attractive to businesses.
Davisco Foods is a company headquartered in Le Sueur, Minnesota. It was founded in 1943. They also own Cambria, the sole producer of quartz work surfaces in the United States.
James Leprino is an American billionaire, businessman, and chairman of the world's largest manufacturer of mozzarella cheese, Leprino Foods. He was listed as the 264th richest person in the US with a net worth of $3.1 billion, according to the 2017 Forbes 400 list.
The presence of pizza restaurant chains has contributed to a significant increase in pizza consumption in Mainland China and Hong Kong. This also had an effect of introducing cheese as a culinary ingredient and everyday food in China, which was relatively uncommon in Chinese cuisine prior to the emergence of pizza chains. Pizza Hut opened its first store in China in 1990, and several pizza restaurant chains exist in China today.
Virginia H. Holsinger was a food scientist whose research was significant in the dairy industry. Her research on enzymes as dietary supplements and food treatments was critical to the development of Lactaid and Beano.
Milky Mist Dairy, Milky Mist Dairy Food Private Limited (MMD), one of India's largest manufacturers of dairy products, is located at Perundurai, 20 km (12 mi) from the Erode district in Tamil Nadu. Formed in 1997 by T. Sathish Kumar, Milky Mist is engaged in milk procurement, processing, and manufacturing of other dairy products. K Rathnam is the CEO of Milky Mist and dairy industry expert.