Whitewave Foods was founded in Boulder, Colorado, in 1977 by Steve Demos, initially focusing on soy and tofu products.[1] The first product was introduced in March 1996 by WhiteWave, Inc. at the Natural Foods Expo in Anaheim, California. In the years that followed, Silk became a successful, worldwide, organic food brand.
In 2002 WhiteWave, Inc was sold to Dean Foods for over $300 million.[2] The company's sales grew to $350 million in annual revenues by 2005. As the business grew, Silk became the largest purchaser of organic, Non GMO soybeans in North America.[citation needed] According to Silk's web site in August 2009, all its soy beans are sourced from North America including organic and non-GMO soybeans.[3]
In January 2010, the company introduced Silk Pure Almond, an almond milk, and its first non-soy-based product.[4]
In 2013, WhiteWave Foods separated from Dean Foods, and became an independent, publicly traded company.[5]
Silk has been a five-year recipient of the Green Power Leadership Award from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.[6][7][8][clarification needed] Silk has been a supporter of Farm Aid since 2002. Silk is a member of the Soyfoods Association of North America (SANA), which provides information about the health benefits and nutritional advantages of soy consumption.
In July 2016 it was announced that the multinational company Danone would purchase WhiteWave Foods for $10.4 billion.[9] The acquisition was completed in April 2017 and newly formed company was named "DanoneWave"[10]
Lawsuit
In the fall of 2009 the Pioneer Press reported that the Cornucopia Institute had made complaints to the U.S. Department of Agriculture accusing Silk producer Dean Foods and its WhiteWave Foods division, of shifting their products away from organics without properly notifying retailers or consumers.[11][12] According to the Star Telegram and other news sources, Silk brand soy milk was made using organic soybeans switched to conventional soybeans while maintaining the same UPC barcodes and prices on the Silk products while replacing the word "organic" with "natural" on the Silk product packaging.[13]
Silk maintains that it sources only domestic/U.S. soy beans. The brand has also enrolled all of its products in the Non-GMO Project's verification process.[14]
Refrigerated soy milk: Vanilla, Original, Chocolate, Very Vanilla, DHA Omega-3, Organic Vanilla, Unsweet Vanilla, Organic Unsweetened, Plain Plus Omega-3 DHA (discontinued 2013)
Light soy milk: Original, Vanilla, Chocolate
Shelf-stable soy milk: Original Aseptic, Vanilla Aseptic, Organic Unsweetened Aseptic, Starbucks Vanilla Aseptic (A special blend made for use and purchase in Starbucks' stores)
Shelf-stable single-serve soy milk: Very Vanilla, Chocolate
Specialty soy milk: Pumpkin Spice (seasonal), Nog (seasonal), Chocolate Mint (seasonal)
