London Inc. September 2021 - 18

Upfront Food processing
TRANSFER OF SKILLS
Putting decades of food industry experience to new use, family-run Cardiff Products
capitalizes on a market eager for plant-based, shelf-stable beverages
THREE YEARS AGO, Stew Cardiff might've been ready to
put the dairy business behind him.
" I was in the dairy business for many years, and I owned
a very sophisticated modern facility, " Cardiff says, referring
to the Shepherd Gourmet Dairy plant he founded and owned
for many years, producing popular products like Greek feta,
yogurt and skyr, an Icelandic yogurt, before selling that
business to the dairy giant Saputo for the tidy sum of $100
million back in 2018.
But, in the immortal wisdom of one Michael Corleone, just
when I thought I was out ...
" I had a friend reach out to me after I'd sold the other
business to Saputo, " says Cardiff. There was a need, they
realized, for someone to do the kind of co-packing work the
Shepherd plant was doing, but for non-dairy beverages.
" It's very technical and process heavy, " he explains. " And
we're process people at heart. "
The new co-packing venture, which got off the ground
this spring, is called Cardiff Products Corporation
(www.cardprod.com), and is tackling a new challenge: nondairy
milk alternatives.
The company's focus from the beginning has been
" primarily on Oat, almond and soy beverage, " Cardiff says,
adding that it is a rapidly growing market for both consumers
and the food industry, catering to the increasingly common
plant-based diet that Cardiff himself mostly follows.
By definition, Cardiff's place in the food supply chain is as
a state-of-the-art aseptic co-manufacturing beverage and
Cardiff Products vice-president and general manager,
Jon McPhail, and president and CEO, Stew Cardiff
18 | londonincmagazine.ca | SEPTEMBER 2021
http://www.cardprod.com http://www.londonincmagazine.ca
London Inc. September 2021

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