Jeff Kaneb, chief operating officer at HP Hood, sat down with Michael Dykes, D.V.M., president and CEO of IDFA, to discuss HP Hood's history of innovation and diversification, consumer preferences, sustainability, and the exciting future for the dairy industry in this episode of Dairy Innovator Dialogues.
HP Hood was founded in 1846 by Harvey Perley Hood, and run as a family-owned operation. The business was bought by the Kaneb family in the 1990s, and still operates today as a family-run business.
Kaneb said that a lot has changed in just the past 24 years.
"Probably the most significant source of growth has been in long shelf life, specialty dairy, and dairy alternatives. And that's been a big part of our growth."
- Jeff Kaneb, chief operating officer, HP Hood
Kaneb explained diversification in the dairy industry.
"It's definitely based on the consumer. The consumer has been changing for the past several years the way that they consume food, the way they think about food. And so the pace of change and consumer tastes has definitely accelerated, and we think that's an opportunity where innovation is welcomed by the consumer, and we think that's a great opportunity for us and for everybody in the industry."
- Jeff Kaneb, chief operating officer, HP Hood
Kaneb spoke with Dykes about the people behind the latest and greatest technology spurring innovation in the dairy sector.
"It's not just the technology, it's the people too. And in fact that's probably the more important part, is the people being trained in the technology, understanding it, and being able to leverage it."
- Jeff Kaneb, chief operating officer, HP Hood
Kaneb said the company also prioritizes giving back to the many communities where HP Hood plants operate.
"Being a part of the community, we feel quite a responsibility to giving back, and that's always been a part of what the Kaneb family is all about. What we do is we make it a point to have the people in the facilities involved. So it's very community based."
- Jeff Kaneb, chief operating officer, HP Hood
Kaneb said he is optimistic about the future of the dairy industry because of innovation in the sector.
"So five years from now, I'm hoping there's a product that we never even thought of that we're making and selling to that consumer that's looking for something different. And so we really do view it as, specialty dairy is the real opportunity within fluid milk."
- Jeff Kaneb, chief operating officer, HP Hood
Dairy Innovator Dialogues is a video and multimedia series presented by IDFA that goes behind the scenes with today’s most innovative dairy leaders and companies. View more from this series at idfa.org/dairyinnovates.