Look at the current M&A (Mergers & Acquisitions) scene in U.S. business and you'll see signals, especially in the food industry, that big conglomerates are falling out of favor: 

• In June, Sara Lee jettisoned its famous name, splitting the company into two units: Hillshire Brands, focusing on mostly meat products, and D.E. Master Blenders 1753, a European maker of coffees and teas. 
• Last week, the country's largest dairy company, Dean Foods, said its Whitewave unit, which accounts for about 40 percent of Dean's operating income, would split from the company and file an IPO. Whitewave produces Horizon Organic milk and the Silk brand, which includes soy and almond milk, products that have been growing faster than Dean's regional milk brands.
• In October, the giant Kraft Foods will split the company in two, separating its U.S. business (Kraft Foods Group) from its international snack foods business (Mondelez International). 

Corporate breakups are on the rise, according to Bloomberg Businessweek, which reports that there were 19 U.S. corporate public company spinoffs in 2011 vs. 16 in 2010. Eleven spinoffs have already been finalized in 2012 and thirteen more have been announced. Continue reading...

No matter that California actually leads the nation in milk production now. It just wouldn’t have much “news” value to say that a California family has switched from dairy to drinking soy milk!

So White Wave, masters of the Silk brand of soy milk (and almond milk and coconut milk), decided to pick on Wisconsin instead. After all, it is “America’s Dairyland.”Continue reading...

Silk is a brand phenomenon. The first refrigerated soymilk, Silk went from zero market share in 1996 to 85% market share in 2003, and remains at the top spot today. Read our brand profile about Silk's rise to become the leading soymilk.

When Silk first muscled its way into the dairy case, it was an oddball product that few could have predicted would become so popular. Now, Silk's maker, White Wave Foods (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the giant Dean Foods) wants to make waves again by encouraging U.S. dairy milk drinkers to switch to soymilk.

Its new "Silk for Milk 10 Day Challenge" campaign sets its sights squarely on the dairy milk market — even though White Wave also produces the Horizon brand of organic milk.Continue reading...

Horizon Dairy is betting on the Disney Channel as a “smart move” in its foray into national television advertising, as seen in the above video.

The product being advertised is Horizon's Organic Milk Plus DHA Omega-3, and the spot conforms to Disney Channel's strict sponsorship policy, which limits ads to two per hour, 15 seconds in length, restricts overt product claims, and requires a voice-over sign-off that the product is a “proud sponsor of Disney Channel.”

The campaign, however, reaches across the Disney family of media brands.Continue reading...