DARIGOLD LAUNCHES BELLE COFFEE™ CREAMER

Unlike Other Coffee Creamers Made with Vegetable Oils, Belle is Real Cream
With Natural Flavors and no Oils or Fillers

SEATTLE, Jan. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Seattle-based Darigold, Inc., one of the nation's largest dairy producers, has launched its new Belle^™ brand of dairy-based coffee creamer made with just five simple ingredients including real cream. Belle Creamers are now available at grocery stores and other food markets across the Northwest.

Unlike other well-known coffee creamer brands, Belle Creamers are made with only five simple ingredients with no oils or fillers, are lactose free, and available in four delicious flavors – Vanilla, Sweet Cream, Hazelnut Latte, and Caramel. Belle Creamers are made to compete with other premium coffee creamers, which typically have 10 or more ingredients, including vegetable oils, artificial flavors and fillers, with no real cream at all.

"Looking at the leading brands of coffee creamer today, it's a bit of a misnomer to call them 'creamers' since they are not made with real cream," said Sam Cohen, head of marketing at Darigold. "Like margarine, most common coffee creamers today are made with vegetable oils, not real cream, and tend to have as many as 10 or more ingredients. Belle Creamers are made with just five simple ingredients, including real cream and natural flavors, making them actual coffee cream rather than coffee oilers."

Farmer-owned Darigold sees plenty of potential for the Belle Creamer brand in the $6 billion coffee whiteners space, which includes half and half, plant-based creamer options, and the ubiquitous oil-based creamers. Consumer demand for premium creamers is growing rapidly and is under-represented at many retailers. Darigold believes Belle's real cream product will uniquely deliver the taste and simple ingredients consumers want while enabling retailer growth in the category.

"As we look to grow and modernize our business, we are making new investments in the Darigold brand and innovative consumer products like Belle Creamer," said Dan Hofmeister, president of Darigold's business to consumer division. "The coffee creamer space is dominated by big brands that aren't real cream at all. We saw that as an opportunity to make the best coffee creamer for the best coffee experience, and we believe Belle delivers on that promise."

Darigold is in the midst of a broader effort to grow its business. Through a recent upgrade of a production facility in Boise and a new plant that is currently under construction in Central Washington, it is providing opportunities for its farmer-owners to grow on-farm production, which means more milk for products for its customers.

"Innovative products like Belle are one of the ways we plan to reinvigorate our 100-year-old brand and build more value for our farmer-owners," said Hofmeister. "That is how we are growing our business and strengthening our foundation for the next 100 years."

To learn more about Belle Creamer or to find retailers, visit DarigoldBelle.com.

About Darigold

Headquartered in Seattle, Darigold, Inc. is the marketing and processing subsidiary of the Northwest Dairy Association (NDA), which is owned by nearly 300 family-owned farms in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Darigold handles approximately 10 billion pounds of milk annually. The company produces a full line of dairy products for retail, foodservice, commodity, and specialty markets, and is one of the largest U.S. dairy processors. Darigold operates 11 plants throughout the Northwest, processing high-quality milk produced by NDA farm families, and satellite offices in Mexico City, Mexico, and Shanghai, China. It is currently building a 12^th plant in central Washington that is slated to open in 2024. For more information, visit Darigold.com.

SOURCE Darigold, Inc.