Stonyfield Farm boss sells up to Danone

Gary Hirshberg, the man who came from nowhere to send shockwaves through the US yogurt sector, is to sell Stonyfield Farm.
Fans of the underdog will surely have mixed feelings about the news that global food giant Danone has purchased a 40% holding in Stonyfield, with an option to buy a majority stake in 2004.
Under the terms of the agreement control of Stonyfield’s management will remain with Hirshberg, the company’s founder, chairman, president and chief executive officer.
Stonyfield, with a turnover of 100 million Euros, is the USA’s leading producer of organic yogurt and the country’s fourth largest yogurt brand. It is also the fastest growing US yogurt manufacturer, with a compound annual growth rate of 20%.
In the May 2001 issue of Dairy Industries International, Michael Heasman and Julian Mellentin said of Stonyfield in their regular Functional Focus column: