Search Site   
News Stories at a Glance
Diverse Corn Belt Project looks at agricultural diversification
Deere settles right-to-repair lawsuit for $99 million; judge still has to approve the deal
YEDA: From a kitchen table to a national movement
Insurer: Illinois farm collision claims reached 180 last year
Indiana to invest $1 billion to add jobs in ag, life sciences
Illinois farmer turned flood prone fields to his advantage with rice
1,702 students participate in Wilmington College judging contest
Despite heavy rain and snow in April drought conditions expanding
Indiana company uses AI to supply farmers with their own corn genetics
Crash Course Village, Montgomery County FB offer ag rescue training
Panel examines effects of Iran war at the farm gate
   
Archive
Search Archive  
   

Fair Oaks will produce yogurt for Chick-fil-A restaurants

 

By STAN MADDUX

Indiana Correspondent

 

FAIR OAKS, Ind. — An Indiana farm is churning out the Greek yogurt being sold at Chick-fil-A restaurants nationwide.

The yogurt is made at Fair Oaks Farms, the supplier of raw milk for fairlife, a new ultra-filtered lactose-free brand of milk with twice the protein and half the sugar as regular milk. The patented filtration process that produces fairlife is also used to make the Greek yogurt parfait hailed as more nutritious than the previous Greek yogurt available at the restaurant chain.

"Our customers have been asking us for menu items that are higher in protein, and we’re listening," said David Farmer, vice president of product strategy and development for Chick-fil-A, which has restaurants in 42 states and Washington, D.C.

Farm Oaks is making the yogurt for more than 1,900 Chick-fil-A locations. The 110-calorie yogurt parfait serving is served with fresh strawberries and blueberries and can be topped with a choice of Chick-fil-A Harvest Nut Granola or chocolate cookie crumbles.

The switch in yogurt makers is a result of Chick-fil-A partnering exclusively with fairlife, LLC, a Chicago-based company whose brand of new milk it touts as also containing more calcium began hitting store shelves across the country in February.

"Better protein-packed milk makes better yogurt. You won’t find anything like this Greek yogurt anywhere else," said Andres Porter, director of communications for fairlife, a sister company of Fair Oaks Farm.

Porter noted chefs from Chick-fil-A’s culinary team worked hand-in-hand with Fair Oaks for seven months to perfect the blend of flavors. The price for a 5-ounce parfait starts at $2.39, officials said.

Fair Oaks markets itself as allowing its dairy cows to roam uninhibited in freestanding barns, raising all-natural products and using environmentally friendly practices such as converting cow manure into energy to run its large agritourism operation in the northwestern part of the state.

It’s owned by Mike and Sue McCloskey. He is founder of Select Milk Producers, a co-op of milk suppliers from more than 90 other dairies in the Midwest and Southwest.

Fair Oaks is making the yogurt from its cheese plant and, to conform with plans for continued growth, added the equipment more than a year ago to produce a much greater volume of the Greek yogurt it was already making in more limited quantities prior to the deal with Chick-fil-A.

Little building expansion was required to accommodate the tremendous growth in production, fairlife officials said.

According to Chick-fil-A officials, the switch in yogurt providers is another example of the steps taken by the company to offer a healthier menu. In 2008, for example, the restaurant chain removed trans fats from its entire menu and more recently, took out high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors from its dressings and sauces.

And, by 2019, Chick-fil-A will serve only chicken raised without antibiotics, officials said.

The Atlanta-based chain took in more than $6 billion in sales in 2014, the 47th consecutive year for growth, according to company officials. In 2014, it was named one of America’s "Top 20 Most Admired Brands" by The Harris Poll and "Top Fast Food Chicken Chain" by Consumer Reports.

8/19/2015