Who is Shamrock Foods Company?

The right brand, right product, and right flavors at the right time.

Shamrock Farms built customer trust by holding fast to this philosophy to produce and distribute farm-fresh, quality products to the family table.
Drawing on its humble beginnings as a dairy farm on the plains of the 1922 Arizona landscape, Shamrock Farms has used its values of hard work, cutting-edge technology, and family ownership to become one of the top Fortune 500 privately held companies, bringing in $1.2 billion dollars annually. With its dedication to forward-thinking marketing, packaging, and technology without sacrificing value, Shamrock Farms is the largest dairy in the Southwest and ranks in the top five dairies in the nation. Even with its size, Shamrock Farms still produces farm-fresh, real-fresh dairy products crafted with futurist technology.

Focus on Growth through Investment

With a commitment to adapting to their customers’ needs through improvements and quality control, Shamrock Farms realizes that busy people demand a variety of fun, tasty, quick, and easy products conveniently packaged in modern, eye-catching, dependable containers. To meet those needs, the dairy has developed new packaging and technology to give their customers products with better flavor, additional portability, increased stability, and added value.

A Model-T truck, 20 cows, and a dream. That’s all an Irish immigrant couple started with in Tuscan, Arizona. Just 71 years later, Shamrock Farms appeared on Forbe’s Top 400 companies list.

Just how did they get there? Expansion, quality, vision, and innovation have led the company to become one of the nation’s largest producers and distributors of farm-fresh, top-quality dairy products.

History

In 1967, Shamrock Farms expanded its food service business in Arizona. Three years later, the dairy began shipping it fresh, wholesome goods to Colorado.

Realizing and acting upon the growing consumer need for single-serve packaging, Shamrock Farms introduced its line of these products in 1998. To extend the shelf life of the single-serve dairy products, the farms implemented ESL (Extended Shelf Life) in 2000 and became a leading force in the production of dairy products. This technological improvement enabled Shamrock Farms to expand its product line and meet the needs of its consumers.

In 2003, Shamrock Farms became the fifth largest dairy farm in the U.S. when it increased its herd to over 10,000 cows. Being so large, however, hasn’t caused the company to lose sight of its goal of farm-fresh, real-fresh products. In fact, the extra cattle meant that the dairy had to move. But that move was to a state-of-the-art facility in Stanfield, Arizona.

Focusing on extended shelf life, Shamrock Farms expanded its use of the ESL filler in 2004. Once again, they became the frontrunner in dairy technology.

Security

All of these benefits have helped the farm produce better fresh products. The improvements, however, come with a cost: security threats. To increase security and stop trade-secret theft, the dairy now utilizes controlled-perimeter security, recording security cameras, and badge-authorized access. These steps have also ensured that the products produced in the dairy are safe from acts of biochemical terrorism, while maintaining the products’ uniqueness.

Growing the Brand

Shamrock Farms has won more than 30 awards from the International Dairy Foods Association in everything from package design to public relations to advertising. The dairy’s solid marketing practices have insured that it and its products are leading sellers in the dairy case.

Expanding the Product Lines

Staying on top of what the customers want and need is important to Shamrock Farms. Because of that, the dairy is always looking for farm-fresh ideas to take to the table. While its milk, flavored half-and-half, ice cream and other products constantly meet and exceed the consumer expectations, Shamrock Farms is considering adding additional product lines such as non-dairy creamers and nondairy beverages made with soy or rice milk. No matter what the dairy churns out, however, their products will always be farm-fresh, real-fresh and delicious on anyone’s table.

Capabilities

Background

Shamrock Farms combines 82 year of experience in the dairy industry with a focus on quality and customer service to extend its capabilities of producing farm-fresh products for an extensive customer base with both branded and private label stock across multiple channels.

Twenty-five percent of Shamrock Farms’ milk supply comes from its own herd of 10,000. Not only is the company, therefore, vertically integrated, but it is also always guaranteed a plentiful stock of fresh milk.

As a single-source supplier, Shamrock Farms is your solution for growing both geographically and categorically. Its extensive capabilities allow you to consolidate vendors, which will easily coordinate your products and ensure consistency of high-quality goods. Since Shamrock Farms also packages its products, it can use your brand and your label. Imagine the possibilities of farm-fresh, wholesome dairy products in your own packages with your name on them — all from one solid supplier and distributor!

Manufacturing

Whatever the need, Shamrock Farms’ manufacturing facility is prepared — with both High Temperature Short Time, or HTST, and Extended Shelf Life, or ESL, capabilities.

State-of-the-art manufacturing facilities using HTST produce 132 million gallons annually with over 300 SKUs. Beyond that, the dairy processes 12 million pounds of cottage cheese and eight million pounds of sour cream per year. Shamrock Farms’ HTST plant’s blow-molds create 35 million gallon bottles per year. It also produces half gallon bottles, paper quarts, and school half-pints.

The newest technology, ESL, is used by another part of Shamrock Farms’ facilities. ESL uses steam injection to heat the product to 285 degrees Fahrenheit for four seconds and then cools it, which kills all the active spoilage bacteria in milk, including that left by HTST. The process provides 82 days of code life for milk, compared to HTST’s 14 to 21 days. For non-dairy creamer products, ESL allows for 120 refrigerated days instead of only 21.

While ESL is an obvious improvement, Shamrock Farms is one in only 10 bottling facilities in the nation that uses the aseptic process, and it produces 120 million gallons per year. Shamrock Farms quickly realized that milk beverages do not move at the same rate as gallon jugs of milk. Thus, the shelf life of smaller containers and flavored varieties must be extended. ESL was the dairy’s solution.

Shamrock Farms’ choice allows more products with better flavor to be distributed in new ways. It can allow for vending machines to hold milk products and keeps consumers safer by reducing the chances for spoilage due to mishandling.

With fresher taste, longer shelf, and increased marketability, Shamrock Farms’ forward-thinking use of ESL yields more variety and flavor in an increased number of products packed in sterilized containers.

In addition to the quality of the product itself, Shamrock Farms is also focused on the process to get there. They place a high value on food safety, as demonstrated by their use of ESL. Integrated

information systems ensure uninterrupted service while computerized controls watch over the production. Safety and security are important to the dairy; it has a biohazard response plan and prepares for it actively. Although the company has never had to recall a product, it has HAACP

process management in place and can act quickly if a problem were to arise. Both the dairy and the processing facilities work at maximum efficiency to ensure a large supply of highest quality products is always ready to be sent to the market. Finally, both internal and external audits consistently award Shamrock Farms highest marks.

Flexibility

Flexibility in product and packaging are important to all consumer markets. Realizing this, Shamrock Farms offers new and innovative products in a wide variety of flavors and packaging to meet consumer lifestyles. With the right package, and the right product, it’s easy and convenient to eat dairy: Consumers demand portability, easy storage, and resealability. Meanwhile, the products must come in a variety of flavors not only for picky eaters, but also for those who enjoy many

different tastes and textures. Healthful options such as no-sugar-added, low-fat, no-salt-added, and vitamin-enriched dairy foods and drinks catch consumers’ eyes. Shamrock Farms can meet all these needs and more.

To guide you, Shamrock Farms employs development and application professionals. They are knowledgeable of product formulation and can help develop new products or recommend current ones that fit your specific needs. Either way, your customers are certain to appreciate the authentic flavors and farm-fresh dairy products offered by Shamrock Farms.

Packaging & Graphics

Shamrock Farms has the right package for the right product. Enhanced images with full-color graphics stand out in the market place and grab shoppers’ attentions. Shamrock Farms offers plastic bottles with silhouette bottle designs, full shrink-wrap sleeve labels covered in graphics with impact, a variety of size options, and many ways to extend shelf life.

Consumers want plastic. Shamrock Farms has plastic. Plastic is convenient and fits a variety of active lifestyles and preferences.

Tetra Pak partnered with the International Dairy Foods Association to conduct a study of how packaging affects consumer choice. They interviewed 602 mothers and 612 children in 30 markets across the nation. The study proved that functionality is the foundation of package choice.

Consumers wanted packages that stood out from the crowd; had a unique, cool shape and look; were high-quality and dependable; kept the product fresh; could easily be used while traveling, especially in a car; and were reusable.

All ESL products are packed in high-density polyethylene containers by Shamrock Farms. They include tamper-evident, inner-freshness seals and full shrink sleeve labeling.

The beautiful, eye-catching packages trigger sales and make consumers thirst for milk. The packages carry more than just artistic flair, however. They also shield the goods from oxidation, which can damage milk’s flavor and nutrition.

For form and function, Shamrock Farms’ products are easy to open, easy to pour and easy to

drink—all in a resealable package.

Currently, Shamrock Farms offers multiple sizes of containers for a variety of products: Milk and dairy-based beverages come in 12 ounces, 20 ounces, and 32 ounces. Half-and-half and refrigerated non-dairy creamer is available in 16 ounces and 32 ounces along with the new dispenser caps. Also coming this fall are 8-ounce bottles, 64-ounce filler capability, and soy and other non-dairy beverage capabilities.

ESL containers can be packaged in multiples in either Delkor Spot-Pak or registered-print shrinkwrap sleeves for easy distribution.

Distribution

Shamrock Farms uses Broad Line food service for distribution. The company delivers 15,000 items, including produce, dry goods, meat, poultry, frozen goods, dairy products, and equipment. Broad Line covers nine southwestern states from two warehouses. It has the number one market share in Arizona and the second in Colorado.

Broad Line is a high-quality, dedicated sales force, providing high-level, multi-dimensional service to a wide variety of clients of all sizes. The company’s logistics team is dedicated to moving products in the most efficient way to ensure they arrive on time and farm-fresh.

Located in Arizona and focusing on delivery in the Southwest, Broad Line was a logical choice for Shamrock Farms’ distribution needs. However, Broad Line also ships dairy products regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Sales & Category Management

Dairy case management is important. Shamrock Farms is here to help by offering SWU rationalization; re-categorization of products, as needed; schematics for marketing, planning, and delivery; store-level merchandising and advertising support; training and education; category reviews of products; and marketing and branding support to ensure that consumers are aware of the products and their quality.