Gay Lea Explained

Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Limited is a dairy products co-operative in Canada producing butter, sour cream, cottage cheese, whipped cream and lactose free milk for retail, foodservice, industrial and export markets. Gay Lea also produces a new product called "Spreadables", which is a spreadable butter, made as a canola oil and butter blend, that tastes like butter but is spreadable directly out of the fridge. The company is based in Mississauga, Ontario and owned and operated by Ontario milk producers, currently representing approximately thirty-five per cent of all Ontario dairy farms.

History

The company was founded in 1958^[1] as United Dairy and Poultry Co-operative Limited and later renamed Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Limited, to reflect the brand name of its products.

In 1981, Gay Lea purchased the 106-year-old Teeswater Creamery.^[2]

In October 2016, Gay Lea acquired Canadian butter maker Stirling Creamery^{[3] [4]}

Operations

• Mississauga, Ontario - Head Office.
• Weston, Ontario - Main distribution centre and cultured products plant.
• Weston, Ontario - UHT pasteurized milk and cream processing plant.
• Guelph, Ontario - Milk powder processing plant, creamery, spreadable butter and aerosol whipped topping operations.
• Teeswater, Ontario - Milk and cream collection plant, milk powder processing creamery and retail outlet.
• Ivanhoe, Ontario - Traditional Canadian cheeses for both retail and ingredients applications. Ivanhoe also has a retail outlet.
• Hamilton, Ontario - Salerno Cheese - combined with a retail outlet and fine, traditional Italian Cheeses.
• Hagersville, Ontario - Organic Dairy and goat milk products - combined with the famous Dairy Bar
• Brampton, Ontario - Head DC for all plants.
• Lindsay, Ontario - 10% stake on Mariposa Dairy - specializing in goat cheese.

Products

• Nordica Cottage cheese
• Nordica Single Serve Cottage cheese
• Lacteeze Milk
• Gay Lea Spreadable Butter Blend
• Gay Lea Butter
• Gay Lea Sour Cream
• Gay Lea Sour Cream Dip
• Gay Lea Real Whipped Cream
• Western Dairy products

External links

• Official website

Notes and References

1. http://blackburnnews.com/midwestern-ontario/midwestern-ontario-news/2014/10/15/gay-lea-co-operative-growing/ "Gay Lea Co-operative Growing"
2. http://www.agcanada.com/daily/gay-lea-lays-out-dairy-processing-expansion-plans "Gay Lea lays out dairy processing expansion plans"
3. Web site: Gay Lea to buy central Ontario butter maker Grainews. www.grainews.ca. 18 October 2016 . en. 2017-10-10.
4. Web site: Gay Lea Foods acquires Canadian butter maker Stirling Creamery - FoodBev Media. www.foodbev.com. en-GB. 2017-10-10.