Subsidiary | |
Parent | Saputo Inc. |
Website | dairyland |
Dairyland was a brand name or as Doing Business As brand for a dairy business that operated in Burnaby, British Columbia and is now owned by Saputo Dairy Foods Canada. Its products are sold across Canada. Dairyland was originally an operating arm of a BC dairy farmer's cooperative(s) and was legally Agrifoods International Cooperative Ltd. at the time of the sale of the majority of its assets to Saputo Incorporated.
Dairyworld Foods, a Canadian-based dairy co-operative, was purchased by Saputo Inc. in 2001. Dairyworld Foods, also known as Agrifoods International Cooperative Limited, produced milk and a range of dairy and other food products to be sold in Canada at large retailers as Dairyland and a number of other brands accumulated over the years, Pacific Milk, Armstrong cheeses, Alpha, etc. Dairyworld was created in 1992 from a merger of Dairyland in BC and Alpha and Nu-Maid in Alberta. In November 2009, Dairyland products were replaced in Ontario by Neilson after Saputo's acquisition of the William Neilson brand from George Weston Limited.
Fraser Valley Milk Producers Association, Northern Alberta Dairy Producers, Central Alberta Dairy Producers, and Dairy Producers Cooperative Ltd. were farmer-owned co-operative creameries and dairy marketers, formed in the early 1900s. They produced dairy products under regional brand in their own home areas. For example, FVMPA produced Dairyland and Pacific milk products, NADP (Northern Alberta Dairy Pool) produced Nu-Maid milk, and CADP produced Alpha brand milk and all three shared a joint venture for Armstrong processed cheese in Alberta. Dairyland also shared a joint venture Ultima Foods with Agropur to produce and market Yoplait yogurt in Canada. There were a number of mergers and acquisitions in the early 1990s including Dairyland acquiring the mainland assets of Palm dairies, the small Flowerlea dairy in Brampton Ontario and another small dairy (Dufferin?) in Winnipeg. In 1992 FVMPA, NADP, and CADP merged to form Dairyworld, legal name Agrifoods International Cooperative Ltd. In 1996 Dairy Producers Cooperative Ltd. joined the entity and it now included Saskatchewan and Manitoba as well as a small foothold in Ontario.
In 2001 Agrifoods International sold all of its processing and brands, except Ultima Foods, to Saputo Inc. Agrifoods International continues to exist but no longer markets its own products.