The company has an interesting history of dairy farms in Wales passed down through generations. Rachel’s (both a company and a person) was a brand started in the UK in 1984. The company was launched in the US in 2007.
What I like:
The flavor is wonderful. I like tart yogurts and these meet that description. They are made from non-fat milk (without artificial growth hormones), evaporated cane juice, the actual fruit for which the variety is named and even vegetable juice is used to create color. The web-site states that no artificial flavor, preservatives and sweeteners are used. Finally, at just over a dollar around here, so I consider this yogurt affordable.
Things I’m still deciding on:
I have a feeling this kind of category is going to be a growing trend on my blog. I just finished Omnivore’s Dilemma, which I loved! It has me taking a closer look at companies.
If you’ve been a regular follower of my blog you know that I am not a “jump on the bandwagon” kind of person when it comes to organic. Local, naturally (old school) organic, and the respect of animals – that I like. This book reiterated for me that we have to pay attention to the source of our foods for ourselves and not just follow the crowds.
Case in point for me is industrial organic – not a big fan. They might be better than industrial products in some ways, and in others they might be about equal. I can’t say I’ll never buy these products, but I won’t exactly seek them out either.
In the US, Rachel’s is part of WhiteWave Foods. I’m not saying this is a bad thing at all. I’m just saying that I haven’t done enough research on the practices of this group so my support and spreading the word about one of their products is something I’m still deciding on. If you have an opinion please let me know in the comments.
I’m so glad I had the opportunity to try the yogurt. At this point, it is a great alternative for me versus some of those brands with fake ingredients I grew up on. It is one step closer to a more natural yogurt for me. I will make my own eventually though.
I’m about 2/3rds of the way through The Omnivores Dilemma and it makes for fascinating reading. It’s certainly not a simple case of, for example, choosing between organic or not. There is a whole spectrum of factors which contribute to making informed food choices.
As for yoghurt, though I sometimes buy local brands here, I generally make my own (which makes huge sense for me because I eat so much of the stuff 🙂 ). Indeed the subject of yoghurt-making is on my own (rather long) list of things to post about!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the yogurt!
I always see those yogurts and want to pick them up! I struggle with the whole food sourcing. It seems like so many companies are “sneaky” about where their ingredients come from! Sighhh!
Hello all,
There is really no such thing as WhiteWave.
WhiteWave is an operating division of the $10 billion agribusiness behemoth Dean Foods. It has gobbled up independent milk brands over the years, owning 50 different labels around the country, Horizon being just one of them.
They own in 8000-cow factory “organic” farm in Idaho and purchase milk from many other industrial dairies. They have been on a pricing rampage this past year and are squeezing family farmers and other brands out of the marketplace.
They also own Rachel’s which is the leading organic brand in the United Kingdom. When they brought the brand here they decided they could make more money using conventional milk.
Dean Foods is widely considered to be a bad actor in the dairy industry.
For an ethical comparison of all organic giving dairy brands (approximately 110) please visit The Cornucopia Institute website at: http://www.cornucopia.org
Mark A. Kastel
Senior Farm Policy Analyst
The Cornucopia Institute
Those flavors sound great!
I’ve been making our yogurt for probably the past four months now, and we love it. I make it using skim milk and it’s also way cheaper than buying it (which I like!). As of late I’ve been wondering about flavoring it somehow just for something different, so I may be playing around with that in my next batch.
Daily Spud – Glad you are enjoying the book. It complicates things, but in a good way, I think. 🙂 I can’t wait to see your post on making yogurt!
Meg – You are welcome!
Erica – I know what you mean. It is one of those things that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. It is definitely hard to find the truth.
Hi Mike – Thanks for your comment. I had read it was just a group with ties to Dean. Interesting web-site. I’m glad to add it to my list of informational resources.
lesley – Glad to hear you are having such great results. Good luck with the flavors! I’ve gotten to the point where I like plain yogurt now, but I do like to spice it up every now and then.
That yogurt sounds delish! Wish they sold it around here.
And I agree with you on organic – especially as now it is a marketing buzzword.
Breakfast every morning is yogurt and granola -my faves are Wallaby NF Vanilla and Brown Cow NF plain. I must admit that cost is my first consideration although I do try to balance that with quality ingredients. I had a friend who described the seemingly easy and straightforward process for making homemade yogurt – I should have paid better attention. Instead, let’s hope Daily Spud and Lesley will share their techniques soon!
I enjoy Rachel’s yogurt and love their low-fat rhubarb flavor.
That said I’ve been a bit skeptical of brands that sell-out to the big food companies. Rachel’s is one, but Stonyfield Farm to Danone, Green&Blacks to Cadburys, Tom’s of Maine toothpaste is owned by Colgate-Palmolive etc are a few others.
On one hand it seems that they go against the very principles they founded their businesses when they sell out to the multinationals, but on the other hand the very of nature is business is to gain wider markets and be available to more consumers.
I’ve done some work on Stonyfield Farm and Danone and it does seem to be a more healthy relationship than most…Danone shares R&D, and operations such as transport, while management at Stonyfield has been relatively unchanged (Keeping the original management is rare in these ethical brand takeovers). Danone gains a more “sustainable” and “ethical” brand.
Rachel’s has had a bit of history… they sold out over a decade ago to Mars, then Dean Foods took it over (they also own Horizon organics).
Hi! Guess what? I have been drafting a post on these for the past few weeks. My daughter and I have been grabbing 2 a week and been taking our time enjoying. I will let you know when it is finally posted and link to yours as well. Thanks.
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Lori, thanks for the review. I saw someone else eating these but haven’t tried them yet. It’s always nice to read others perspectives and I appreciate your approach and your thought process! Thank you for the birthday wishes!!
cathy – I know. It is like once things become more of a buzzword we have to analyze them a bit more. Companies love to prey on our desire to be healthy.
Tangled Noodle – I’m looking forward to those posts too. 😉 Price is my biggest consideration as well. Especially since it is a daily eat and not a splurge. It can get expensive.
gastroanthro – Thanks for all this valuable info. I agree with you. It seems like a contradiction that they sell out yet it does help the brand reach more people. I had never purchased Horizon before, but the book opened my eyes a bit to it. I’m not sure it is a good choice for me.
Jennifer – I can’t wait to see your post! I just had the vanilla chai and I will admit it was delish.
ChefBliss – So glad I can help and I absolutely love the discussion my readers create. It is so helpful!
Yes, do try making yogurt! My husband made some this week for the first time, coincidentally. If he can do it, you can do it. It was wonderful. His recipe actually came from an Indian cookbook.
Thanks, Michelle! Everyone has me convinced I need to take the plunge. 🙂
got a glimpse of your blog….love it! I recently started reading The Omnivores Dilemma and am intrigued. Looking forward to following you on twitter.
Hi JB – Thanks for stopping by with your comment. Hope you like the book. It sucked me in from the very beginning!