Michigan Sugar is the largest beet-sugar processor east of the Mississippi. The agricultural cooperative is owned by some 1,250 beet-sugar farmers who purchased the company from Imperial Sugar in 2002. Michigan Sugar manufactures both private-label and branded consumer, foodservice, and industrial products. Its sugars include granulated, confectioner's and brown sugar, along with molasses and liquid sucrose. It also manufactures sugar by-products such as beet pulp, which is used for animal feed and fertilizer. Michigan Sugar's flagship brand is Pioneer Sugar, but the company also sells to institutions under the name Big Chief Sugar.

Gold Digger Apples provides fruits in an array of colors, including gold, but its produce isn't dug up from the ground. Rather, it's picked from trees and bushes. In addition to apples, the company packs and ships cherries, nectarines, peaches, pluots, and pears to US and foreign foodservice operators, retail food outlets, and food wholesalers. Gold Digger grows such apple varieties as Braeburn, Jonagold, Granny Smith, and Golden Delicious, which are custom packaged in tray packs, bags, loose bushels, and gift boxes. The company also owns Okanogan Estate & Vineyards.

Verve Clicquot Ponsardin has made ultra-premium champagnes and wines since the late 1700s. Its portfolio includes vintages from France (where it was founded), Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and the US. Brand names in France include its popular Champagne Veuve Clicquot, as well as Demi-Sec, GlobalLight, La Grand Dame, Vintage Rich, Vinage Ros�, and Yellow Label. In Australia and New Zealand, it produces wines at Cape Mentelle Vineyards and Cloudy Bay Vineyards. Italy boasts Ceretto, Vistorta, and other names. In the US, Clicquot makes wines at Newton Vineyard. The firm was established by Philippe Clicquot in 1772. Verve Clicquot is part of the Mo�t Hennessey USA family.

Jelly Belly Candy Company beginnings are traced back to a family named Goelitz. When two young brothers emigrated from Germany to make their mark in America, they set the family on its candymaking course. In 1869, just two years after arriving in America, Gustav Goelitz bought an ice cream and candy store in Belleville, Ill., and his brother, Albert was sent out in a horse drawn wagon to sell their sweets to nearby communities. Then the second generation of the family jumped on the band wagon of candy innovations by making a new type of candy, then called "buttercream" candies, including Candy Corn, a sweet we've made since about 1900 (and still use the same recipe). These candies carried the family through the Great Depression and two world wars. Today, the great-grandsons of Gustav Goelitz, the fourth generation, are still carrying on the tradition of making candy.

M.A.Patout & Son, Ltd., also known as "Enterprise Factory", is located in Patoutville, Louisiana, approximately 6 miles southwest of Jeanerette. M.A.Patout & Son, Ltd. is the oldest sugar company in the United States still owned and operated by the original family - Patout. It was founded in 1825. Today, it operates three raw sugar cane factories in southern Louisiana, M.A.Patout & Son, Ltd., Sterling Sugars, Inc., and Raceland Raw Sugar Corporation. Former C.E.O. Wm. S. Patout III led the effort of mill capacity expansion and acquisition of Sterling Sugars, Inc. and Raceland Raw Sugar Corp. All three mills are producers of sugar, molasses and syrup. Enterprise Factory has a processing capacity of 22,000 tons of cane per day and 2,100,000 tons of cane for the season. The combined capacity of the three mills is 4,600,000 tons of cane annually.

The cookie may crumble but at Burton's Foods what remains is income. The company is one of the largest sweet biscuit companies in the UK. Burton's makes such childhood favorites as Jammie Dodgers and Wagon Wheels. Its other brand names include Viscount and Maryland (another favorite in the UK). Burton's also offers private-label biscuits, confectionery, and snack foods. Its products are available in Europe and North America. The company was founded in 2001 as the result of the merger of Burton's Gold Medal Biscuits and Horizon Biscuits Company. Burton's is owned by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Apollo Management.

Hiland Dairy began in Springfield, Missouri, in 1938 by two men, Mr. Putman and Mr. Carter, who used a gas-powered electric generator to facilitate the milking of a 50-cow herd. All sales at this time were conducted door-to-door to homes in the area. Hiland Dairy was one of about 40 such dairies that existed around Springfield in the late 1930s. In 1948, Hiland moved to a single, two-story brick building on old Route 66. Mr. Putman worked hard for many years and developed the business until 1979, when he sold the operation to Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc. and Dairy Farmers of America, Incorporated. Hiland Dairy is now jointly owned by these two dairy farmer cooperatives. Since the late 1970s, Hiland has competed against other much larger national dairies. Today, Hiland is the only locally operated dairy due in large part to its single-minded commitment to quality. Hiland’s stringent production standards exceed the toughest state and federal requirements which help ensure the highest quality dairy products available.

They've got an awful lot of coffee in Florida, home of Rowland Coffee Roasters, one of North America's largest privately-owned producers of coffee products in the US. If espresso is your thing, you're likely drinking a blend of coffee from Rowland, which roasts 80% of all espresso coffee sold in the US and owns the two top espresso brands, Bustelo and Pilon. The company also sells European blends (Caffe Signore, Medaglia D'Oro) and Cabana blends (Estrellla, El Pico, and Oquendo). The family-run company was established in Cuba in 1865. The founder's son, Jose Angel "Pepe" Souto, died in 2007. His children continue to oversee the business.

Faribault Foods produces canned beans, chicken, chili, pasta, baked beans, soups, stews, and vegetables (including corn, peas, and green beans), as well as aseptic juice pouches and organic food items. Faribault Foods company takes orders for its products via phone, fax, or the Internet and ships it by the truckload from nationwide distribution and logistics centers. Its brands include Butter Kernel, Chiliman, Sun-Vista, Pasta Select, and. Faribault also offers private-label, co-packing, and product-development services. Faribault Foods acquired S&W Fine Foods from Del Monte in 2006 and added S&W-branded canned beans and pasta it its offerings.

Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Holdings, Inc. takes a licking and keeps on selling -- Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream is the leading US ice cream producer. The company manufactures premium ice creams and other frozen dairy desserts under its namesake Dreyer's and its Edy's brands for distribution to food retailers and foodservice purveyors throughout the US and some 25 overseas markets. In addition, Dreyer's distributes Nestl�'s H�agen-Dazs and ice cream novelties; it also operates the H�agen-Dazs Shoppe Company, which franchises ice cream parlors worldwide. Dreyer's is a subsidiary of Swiss food giant Nest.

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