Mark Kastel in OrganicEye PostsPress Release

Organic Industry Consolidation Challenged

January 21, 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Mark A. Kastel, 608-625-2000 / info@organiceye.org

FTC complaint: Horizon Family Brands acquisition of Maple Hill will increase market concentration, reduce competition, and harm family-scale organic dairy farmers and consumers.

THE STORY: A QUICK OVERVIEW

Citing serious antitrust concerns that would increase market concentration, reduce competition, and harm family-scale organic dairy farmers, OrganicEye has formally requested the FTC investigate Horizon Family Brands proposed acquisition of Maple Hill Farms.

Horizon already holds an estimated 25% share of the U.S. organic fluid milk market, and the largest name brand; acquiring Maple Hill would further entrench its dominance in an already highly concentrated and dysfunctional organic dairy industry.

The loss of Maple Hill as an independent, grass-fed organic dairy producer would weaken farmers’ bargaining power, particularly for family-scale farms that currently benefit from multiple wholesale buyers, and would reduce consumer choice.

The proposed consolidation of Horizon, Wallaby (a yogurt brand), and Maple Hill under common ownership potentially violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act and the Sherman Act, prompting calls for a thorough antitrust review before approval.

LA FARGE, WIS. —OrganicEye, a prominent nonprofit public-interest organization that acts as an organic industry watchdog, has formally requested the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigate Horizon Family Brands’ proposed acquisition of Maple Hill Farms, citing serious antitrust concerns that could significantly increase market concentration, reduce competition, and harm family-scale organic dairy farmers.

On December 1, 2025, Horizon Family Brands announced its intention to acquire Maple Hill Farms, a leading, nationally-distributed brand of certified organic, 100% grass-fed dairy products — an acquisition that would materially impact both the wholesale market for organic milk and the consumer market for organic dairy products nationwide.

“Horizon already controls a larger share of the organic fluid milk market than any other brand in the United States,” said Mark A. Kastel, Executive Director of OrganicEye. “Acquiring Maple Hill would further entrench market dominance in an industry that is already highly concentrated and dysfunctional, with many family farmers forced out by anti-competitive practices.”

Horizon Family Brands is owned by Platinum Equity, a global investment firm managing approximately $50 billion in assets. Purportedly the largest brand of organic dairy products, holding an estimated 25 percent of the organic fluid milk market in the United States and the largest name brand by dollar volume in the organic industry, Horizon Family Brands also controls the Wallaby brand of certified organic yogurt.

Maple Hill Farms reported approximately $93 million in sales in 2024 and exclusively sells grass-fed organic milk. This rapidly growing segment of the organic dairy market is disproportionately supplied by family-scale farms, particularly in the eastern United States, where farmers have historically relied on having more than one buyer and more than one viable production model.

The proposed acquisition would place Horizon, Wallaby, and Maple Hill under common ownership — further consolidating an already highly concentrated organic dairy marketplace — and threatens to substantially reduce competition in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act and raises additional concerns under the Sherman Act.

Horizon-branded products span both baseline USDA organic offerings and premium 100%-grass-fed products marketed with enhanced production claims, and place Horizon in direct competition with Maple Hill’s core value proposition. In their letter to the FTC, OrganicEye argues that the loss of Maple Hill as an independent competitor would reduce choices for consumers while weakening farmers’ bargaining power.

Horizon’s corporate history includes prior ownership under Dean Foods and WhiteWave, companies that were widely criticized for lowering prices paid to organic dairy farmers and terminating some in violation of their contracts — practices that had a chilling effect on free-market pricing, driving some of their farmer-suppliers out of business.

The Horizon brand has also faced vociferous criticism by organic consumers and farm groups for depending on giant factory dairies west of the Mississippi that are milking thousands of cows each, placing pioneering organic farm families at a competitive disadvantage.

OrganicEye asks that the FTC conduct a thorough antitrust review before allowing the transaction to proceed.

“It is imperative that Horizon Family Brands provide additional information about the likelihood that the proposed transaction would substantially lessen competition,” OrganicEye’s Kastel said.

The request to the FTC included language stating that organic dairy must be evaluated separately from conventional dairy due to fundamentally different production costs, supply chains, and consumer expectations.

“Free and fair competition is essential to a healthy organic dairy sector,” Kastel said. “Strong enforcement of antitrust laws, especially Section 1 of the Sherman Act and Section 7 of the Clayton Act, is essential to protect farmers, consumers, and the long-term integrity of organic agriculture.”

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MORE:

Horizon-Wallaby-Maple Hill Timeline

Horizon Organic Dairy was founded in 1991.^[1]

Wallaby Organic was founded in 1994.^[2]

Horizon Organic became the first publicly traded organic food company in 1994 and was subsequently purchased by Dean Foods, the country’s largest dairy company at the time, in 2004.

It was later spun off as a separate operating unit, WhiteWave holdings, which, in addition to Horizon, included International Delight, Silk, and nationally distributed branded products (including a large player in the alternative milk sector in Europe).

Maple Hill Farms, marketing 100% grass-fed dairy products, was founded in 2009^[3] and currently sources from 150 small family farms.

In 2012, Dean Foods spun off WhiteWave, with former Dean CEO Gregg Engles becoming the WhiteWave CEO. In April of 2017, the French dairy giant Danone Groupe purchased WhiteWave, and Engles continued as a Danone S.A. board member.^[4]

Alleging a material impact on both the market for organic milk and consumer choice, a formal appeal of the acquisition was made to the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice by Mark Kastel (then Executive Director and chief policy architect at The Cornucopia Institute).

Danone owned the Stonyfield organic yogurt and milk brand. It was alleged that combining that with Horizon would create market dominance. Federal regulators forced Danone to divest their interest in Stonyfield (which was purchased by another international dairy firm, Lactalis).

In 2023, the Danone US premium organic dairy activities, comprising the Horizon Organic and Wallaby businesses, accounted for approximately 3% of Danone’s global sales, amounting to €828,000,000 / $894,240,000 USD (at 2023 exchange rates).[5] [6]

On January 1, 2024, Platinum Equity acquired Horizon Organic Dairy LLC and Wallaby brands from Danone and manages them under the umbrella of Horizon Family Brands.^[7]

Platinum Equity: “Founded in 1995, Platinum Equity, a global investment firm with ~$50 billion of assets under management and a current portfolio of approximately 60 companies operating in a diverse range of industries (including five in the consumer food and beverage sector).[8]