| Crystal Creamery | |
| Industry: | Dairy |
| Former Name: | Foster Farms Dairy |
| Predecessors: | --> |
| Successors: | --> |
| Founded: | 1901 |
| Founder: | George Knox |
| Hq Location City: | Modesto, California |
| Areas Served: | --> |
| Owners: | --> |
Crystal Creamery was founded in 1901 by George Knox in Modesto, California as Crystal Cream & Butter. In 1921, Crystal Cream & Butter was purchased by Carl Hansen, a Danish immigrant. The Hansen family led the company for the next 86 years and pioneered many new technologies, growing Crystal Cream & Butter into one of the largest independent dairy processors in the state of California. In 2007, Crystal Cream & Butter was acquired by HP Hood, who sold it later that year to Foster Dairy Farms, which had been founded in 1941 by Max and Verna Foster, a venture that followed the 1939 founding of their Foster Farms. Today, Crystal Creamery claims to be the "largest privately owned dairy in California."[1]
In 2009, Foster Farms Dairy acquired Humboldt Creamery, based in Fernbridge, California (near Eureka). In 2010, Foster Dairy Farms re-branded itself as Crystal Creamery. Crystal Creamery's 120th Anniversary was celebrated in 2021.[2]