Clover Sonoma says it will replace petroleum—based milk carton liner with one made from sugar

Petaluma-based Clover Sonoma - known for its Clo the cow mascot and its organic stance in the dairy business - announced it will start using a sugar-based liner for its milk cartons later this year, moving away from a petroleum-based plastic coating.

Marcus Benedetti, chairman and CEO of the company, announced the change at the Business Journal- and Bank of America-sponsored North Coast Specialty Food & Beverage Industry Conference on Tuesday morning in Rohnert Park.

He said the effort was aimed at “taking control of what we can” in the broader effort to address how food packaging will address the environment and specifically, climate change. The sugar-centered coating process has been available since 2015, but companies have not embraced the idea because of costs.

Kristel Corson, Clover’s vice president of sales and marketing, said Clover produces about 33 million cartons a year and will start this summer using the sugar-based lining in the organic milk products line with half-gallons, quarts and later smaller units. It plans to eventually expand into its conventional milk products.

Corson said the technology to use the sugar-based liners has been in place on other food products, but this is the first use of it on a milk carton in the United States.

Cartons are already recyclable but the lining change eliminates the need to use the petroleum-based plastic film on the inside. It’s a change done in response to customers being increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of products they use. She would not disclose the cost to convert to the new material but said it was substantial.

Benedetti told the audience that as the company begins to inform the industry and the buying public of this change, he expects other companies will follow along.

“We are a small, branded dairy but because of brand and trust among our very vocal consumers, I think if we can make these steps, we can make an entire industry change when it comes to climate change-related issues.”

While the company is “willing to bear the pain now” of additional packaging costs, he said with industry cooperation, the cost of this effort to reduce the environmental impact of product packaging will likely go down. Eventually, he said, the company is looking for ways to ban all plastics in its product packaging.

The company, whose roots extend back to 1916 when the Petaluma Cooperative Creamery began distribution of milk, followed that with the 1929 introduction of its Clo the Cow marketing brand. In 1977, it became Clover Stornetta Farms under Gene Benedetti.

In 1994, the industry found a way to boost production by 20% through used of a synthetic growth hormone. Turning away from that option was a company choice and a recognition, Marcus Benedetti said, of consumer demand.

“American consumers want a choice. In making that choice we were greeted with something we did not expect: pent up frustration of consumers being told when and how to eat, especially milk.”

Under his father, Dan Benedetti, the company began production of organic milk and later its partner dairies became the first in the country to be certified by the American Humane Association for animal wellness in 2000.

Under Marcus Benedetti, the company in 2016 became a B Corporation. Needing 80 points to do so under the scoring system, it racked up 96.9 points. Categories in the judging include: community, environment, workers and governance.

“That gave us a road map,” he told the audience.

In 2017, the business became Clover Sonoma and a year later expanded into the Rockies and the Southwest.

Throughout its 100-year history, the company has held true to its standards – even at a cost, he told the conference audience.

“We’ve always been going away from producing the cheapest glass of milk and we now have created the most expensive, by far….So far, it has worked.”

Other speakers at the specialty food and beverage conference were Lara Dickinson, co-founder and executive director of the Climate Collaborative; Mike Scheu, vice president of sales and marketing for Straus Family Creamery and chairman of the North Bay Food Industry Group; Robert Steele, managing director, investment banking middle markets, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Guy Blanchard, chief financial officer of vertical agriculture startup AeroFarms; and Anubhav S. Goel, president for client growth solutions, SPINS LLC.

Petaluma-based Clover Sonoma - known for its Clo the cow mascot and its organic stance in the dairy business - announced it will start using a sugar-based liner for its milk cartons later this year, moving away from a petroleum-based plastic coating.

Marcus Benedetti, chairman and CEO of the company, announced the change at the Business Journal and Bank of America sponsored North Coast Specialty Food & Beverage Industry Conference on Feb. 25 in Rohnert Park.

He said the effort was aimed at “taking control of what we can” in the broader effort to address how food packaging will address the environment and specifically, climate change. The sugar-centered coating process has been available since 2015, but companies have not embraced the idea because of costs.

Kristel Corson, Clover’s vice president of sales and marketing, said Clover produces about 33 million cartons a year and will start this summer using the sugar-based lining in the organic milk products line with half-gallons, quarts and later smaller units. It plans to eventually expand into its conventional milk products.

Corson said the technology to use the sugar-based liners has been in place on other food products, but this is the first use of it on a milk carton in the United States.

Cartons are already recyclable but the lining change eliminates the need to use the petroleum-based plastic film on the inside. It’s a change done in response to customers being increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of products they use. She would not disclose the cost to convert to the new material but said it was substantial.

Benedetti told the audience that as the company begins to inform the industry and the buying public of this change, he expects other companies will follow along.

“We are a small, branded dairy but because of brand and trust among our very vocal consumers, I think if we can make these steps, we can make an entire industry change when it comes to climate change-related issues.”

While the company is “willing to bear the pain now” of additional packaging costs, he said with industry cooperation, the cost of this effort to reduce the environmental impact of product packaging will likely go down. Eventually, he said, the company is looking for ways to ban all plastics in its product packaging.

The company, whose roots extend back to 1916 when the Petaluma Cooperative Creamery began distribution of milk, followed that with the 1929 introduction of its Clo the Cow marketing brand. In 1977, it became Clover Stornetta Farms under Gene Benedetti.

In 1994, the industry found a way to boost production by 20% through used of a synthetic growth hormone. Turning away from that option was a company choice and a recognition, Marcus Benedetti said, of consumer demand.

“American consumers want a choice. In making that choice we were greeted with something we did not expect: pent up frustration of consumers being told when and how to eat, especially milk.”

Under his father, Dan Benedetti, the company began production of organic milk and later its partner dairies became the first in the country to be certified by the American Humane Association for animal wellness in 2000.

Under Marcus Benedetti, the company in 2016 became a B Corporation. Needing 80 points to do so under the scoring system, it racked up 96.9 points. Categories in the judging include: community, environment, workers and governance.

“That gave us a road map,” he told the audience.

In 2017, the business became Clover Sonoma and a year later expanded into the Rockies and the Southwest.

Throughout its 100-year history, the company has held true to its standards – even at a cost, he told the conference audience.

“We’ve always been going away from producing the cheapest glass of milk and we now have created the most expensive, by far….So far, it has worked.”

Other speakers at the specialty food and beverage conference were Lara Dickinson, co-founder and executive director of the Climate Collaborative; Mike Scheu, vice president of sales and marketing for Straus Family Creamery and chairman of the North Bay Food Industry Group; Robert Steele, managing director, investment banking middle markets, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Guy Blanchard, chief financial officer of vertical agriculture startup AeroFarms; and Anubhav S. Goel, president for client growth solutions, SPINS LLC.