How does store brand milk affect the pricing of organic milk and the profitability of family farmers?
• Store brand milk is either packaged for the individual chain store (as in the case of Organic Valley packaging milk for Whole Foods 365 brand) or as branded product that is only promoted at the store. For example, Aurora Dairy in Colorado packages Nature’s Promise ½ gallons for Stop and Shop. The Woodstock brand, which is packaged by Schroeder Company in Minnesota, is also sold in Stop and Shop. • The informal survey from western Massachusetts shows that store brand milk will average lower than the branded product. Stop & Shop’s Nature’s promise sold at $3.59/ ½ gallon and the Organic Cow and Stonyfield brand sold at $4.19 / ½ gallon, a difference of 60¢. • Many of the major companies will package store generic brands for different retailers so the store brand is a significant sector of their business, as is the case with Organic Valley and Whole Foods. In Whole Foods the 365 brand retails for $3.29 / ½ gallon and Organic Valley retails at $4.19 / ½ gallon, the same milk, packaged in
