 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food |
| Founded | 1846; 179 years ago (1846) Derry, New Hampshire, United States |
| Founder | Harvey Perley Hood |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Area served | United States and International Locations |
Key people | Gary Kaneb (president) |
| Products | Dairy |
| Revenue | $3.5 billion |
| Owner | The Kaneb Family |
Number of employees | More than 3,400 |
| Subsidiaries | see list of brands below |
| Website | hphood |
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HP Hood LLC is an Americandairy company based inLynnfield, Massachusetts. Hood was founded in 1846[1] inDerry, New Hampshire, by Harvey Perley Hood. After two years in Derry, Hood took his milk south and established a factory inCharlestown, Massachusetts. Recent company acquisitions by HP Hood have expanded its reach from predominantly New England to the broader United States. Today, the company has annual sales revenue of about $3.2 billion and more than 3,400 employees.
From 1980 to 1995, HP Hood was owned byAgway. That year, the company was acquired by the Kaneb Family.[2][3] HP Hood is an independently owned, private company and is listed at #216 on the Forbes "America's Largest Private Companies 2018" list.[4]
In 1984, HP Hood was the first dairy to bring Lactaid-branded milk to theNew England market;[5] entrepreneur Alan Kligerman had introduced the Lactaid brand oflactase dietary supplements in 1977[6] and then started to license the brand to dairies in 1982.[7] In 1987, HP Hood, which had always been focused on New England, went nationwide for the first time with a low-fatice milk product, Hood Light.[5]
In early 1991, Kligerman licensed the Lactaid brand toJohnson & Johnson subsidiaryMcNeil, which launched a massive advertising campaign that turned Lactaid into J&J's fastest-growing brand of the 1990s.[6] That same year, under McNeil's supervision of the brand, HP Hood became the official supplier of Lactaid milk for theEast Coast of the United States.[8]
In 2001, HP Hood renegotiated its contract with McNeil and became the official supplier of Lactaid milk for the entire United States market.[8] By 2004, Lactaid was the No. 1 national brand of milk in the United States.[9]
In 2004, the company acquiredCrowley Foods, based inBinghamton, New York; andKemps, based inSt. Paul, Minnesota. In 2007, HP Hood acquired Crystal Cream and Butter Company,[10] based inSacramento, California, but then sold it that same year toFoster Farms Dairy. In 2008, they acquired the ice cream business ofBrigham's Ice Cream,[11] based inArlington, Massachusetts. These acquisitions effectively expanded the company's reach fromNew England andNew York to the broaderUnited States.
In 2017, the company purchased a former Muller Quaker plant in Batavia, New York.[12] In 2022, the company purchased land in Greenville, Texas,[13] and has plans to expand capacity.
HP Hood and the logo is a well knownNew England company. The smoke stack marked "Hoods Milk" at their former facility nearSullivan Square,Charlestown remains a landmark. The 20-acre facility is being redeveloped as a mixed residential-commercial campus called the "Hood Park".[18][19]
The company ran a highway safety campaign called Hood Samaritan (seeGood Samaritan) circa 1960, that was later taken over[20] by theCVS Pharmacy chain.
AtBoston Children's Museum, the outdoorice cream stand takes the form of a largeHood Milk Bottle. The Hoodblimp often appears at sport and cultural events (most often Red Sox home games above Boston, and theEastern States Exposition in October). The Hood blimp made news on September 26, 2006 when it crashed in a wooded area nearManchester-by-the-Sea,Massachusetts.[21]
TheHoodsie cup, a small cardboard cup of ice cream, is an iconic product;[22] the term "Hoodsie" is occasionally cited as ashibboleth ofthe Boston-area dialect.[23]
A United States Supreme Court case,H.P. Hood & Sons v. Du Mond, was decided in the Hood Company's favor, in which the State of New York was prevented from withholding a license to acquire milk produced in New York, and sold in Massachusetts, based on thedormant commerce clause limitations on state intervention in interstate commerce.
The company and their logo served as somewhat of an inspiration to the popularPhish tune "Harry Hood".[24][25]