Leprino Foods is an American company with headquarters in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

that produces cheese, lactose,

whey protein Whey protein is a mixture of proteins isolated from whey, the liquid material created as a by-product of cheese production. The proteins consist of α-lactalbumin, β-lactoglobulin, serum albumin and immunoglobulins. Glycomacropeptide also ma ...

and sweet whey.Official website, About Us
/ref>BusinessWeek profile
/ref> It is the world's largest maker of

mozzarella Mozzarella (, ; nap, muzzarella ) is a southern Italian cheese traditionally made from Italian buffalo's milk by the pasta filata method. Fresh mozzarella is generally white but when seasoned it turns to a light yellow depending on the anim ...

cheese.

Overview

Leprino Foods was founded by James Leprino's father Mike Leprino in 1950 as a family-owned market selling grocery items and handmade cheese in Denver. It was first sold under the ''Gina Marie''

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create ...

. Leprino Foods has facilities in Waverly, New York; Remus, Michigan;

Allendale, Michigan Allendale is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 17,579 at the 2010 census. It is located within Allendale Charter Township, occupying approximately the northern two-thirds of th ...

;

Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, Weld County, Colorado, ...

;

Fort Morgan, Colorado Fort Morgan is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Morgan County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 11,597 at the 2020 United States Census. Fort Morgan is the principal ...

; Roswell, New Mexico;

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

;

Tracy, California Tracy is the second most populated city in San Joaquin County, California, United States. The population was 93,000 at the 2020 census. Tracy is located inside a geographic triangle formed by Interstate 205 on the north side of the city, Inters ...

; and Lemoore, California. It operates plants in Brazil (PicNic brand),

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The company's cheeses include mozzarella, reduced-fat

Monterey jack Monterey Jack, sometimes shortened to Jack, is a Californian white, semi-hard cheese made using cow's milk, with a mild flavor and slight sweetness. It has been called "an American original" and "as a vestige of Spanish rule in the early nineteen ...

provolone Provolone (, ) is an Italian cheese. It is an aged ''pasta filata'' (stretched-curd) cheese originating in Campania near Vesuvius, where it is still produced in pear, sausage, or cone shapes long. Provolone-type cheeses are also produced in othe ...

, reduced-fat

cheddar Cheddar most often refers to either: *Cheddar cheese *Cheddar, Somerset, the village after which Cheddar cheese is named Cheddar may also refer to: Places * Cheddar, Ontario, Canada * Cheddar Yeo, a river which flows through Cheddar Gorge and t ...

and various cheese blends, mainly for

pizzeria A pizzeria is a restaurant focusing on pizza. As well as pizza, dishes at pizzerias can include kebab, salads and pasta. Many pizzerias offer take-away, where the customer orders their food either in advance or at the restaurant and then t ...

and foodservice operators, frozen food manufacturers and private label cheese packagers. Leprino supplies cheese to 85% of the pizza market, including

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert a ...

Domino's Domino's Pizza, Inc., trading as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware domiciled and headquartered at the Domino's Farms Office Park in Ann Arbor ...

Little Caesars Little Caesar Enterprises Inc. (doing business as Little Caesars) is an American multi-national pizza chain. Based on 2020 statistics, Little Caesars is the third-largest pizza chain by total sales in the United States, behind Pizza Hut and ...

Papa John's Papa John's International, Inc., d/b/a Papa Johns, is an American pizza restaurant chain. It is the fourth largest pizza delivery restaurant chain in the United States, with headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia metropolit ...

, Hungry Howie's, Tombstone, Tony's, Jack's, and Digiorno. Their cheese and products are also used by

Hot Pockets Hot Pockets is an American brand of microwaveable turnovers generally containing one or more types of cheese, meat, or vegetables. Hot Pockets was founded by the Chef America Inc. Since April 20, 2002, they have been produced by Nestlé. Hi ...

Stouffer's Stouffer's is a brand of frozen prepared foods currently owned by Nestlé. Its products are available in the United States and Canada. Stouffer's is known for such popular fare as lasagna, macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, ravioli, and salisbury ...

, Smart Ones, and other products used in

Yoplait Yoplait ( , ) is the world's largest franchise brand of yogurt. It is jointly owned by American food conglomerate General Mills and French dairy cooperative Sodiaal. History In 1964, 100,000 French farmers agreed to merge six regional dairy coo ...

yogurt, Pillsbury Toaster Strudel, and baby formula. Leprino is the US's largest exporter of lactose. They sell one billion pounds of cheese per year for $3 billion. In 2009, it was ranked by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' as the 165th largest private company in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

.Forbes company profile
/ref>

References

{{reflist Food and drink companies established in 1950 Companies based in Colorado 1950 establishments in Colorado