Dive Brief:
- Gay Lea Foods, a dairy cooperative based Mississauga, Ontario, has purchased rival Hewitt's Dairy for an undisclosed amount.
- The deal combines two icons of eastern Canada's dairy business. While Gay Lea is the largest dairy producer in Ontario, Hewitt's, which operates ice stores and sells milk in old-fashioned glass bottles, may be the best-known producer.
- The deal comes just eight months after Gay Lea acquired Salerno Dairy, a cheese producer in Ontario.
Dive Insight:
The Canadian dairy industry is going through a remarkable period of merger-driven growth. Gay Lea, like rivals Agropur and Saputo, is in buying mode. The only difference in Gay Lea's approach is that unlike Agropur, which bought Davisco, and unlike Saputo, which bought Morningstar, Gay Lea hasn't bought anything in the U.S. ... yet.