All Kevin Danzeisen ever wanted to do was take care of cows.
From growing up working on dairy farms to studying agricultural business and animal science at Fresno State University, Danzeisen has lived and breathed dairy for almost as long as he can remember. He even gave up a spot playing college baseball so he could spend more time on the farm.
“I actually quit baseball because I realized I liked cows better,” he said.
Danzeisen is one of the founders of 1836 Farms, a new Terrell-based dairy company that hopes to change the way Texans drink milk. With an emphasis on locally made, organic products and sustainable packaging, Danzeisen hopes 1836 Farms will stand out on grocery store shelves.
Despite Danzeisen’s lifetime of experience in the dairy industry, he views himself as somewhat of an outsider.
“The dairy industry gets mad at me,” he said, laughing.
As the dairy industry has grown, Danzeisen said, producers have moved away from their roots, leaving customers with a product that doesn’t taste like it used to.
“We’ve suffered trying to compete on price, and we’re no longer worried about the taste,” he said.
Danzeisen hopes to put taste front and center again for both producers and consumers. 1836 Farms bottles its milk in glass containers, a choice that Danzeisen says dramatically improves the flavor and freshness of the product. Danzeisen also hopes that glass packaging will have a positive environmental impact.
Customers can return the empty bottles to their grocery stores, where 1836 Farms will collect and return them to its bottling facility in Terrell. There, the bottles are rinsed, sanitized and refilled.
Danzeisen has seen the success of the glass-bottle model with his first venture, Phoenix-based Danzeisen Dairy. In 2014, the company began bottling and distributing milk from Danzeisen’s family dairy farm, which he and his father purchased from his grandparents in 2002.
His grandfather started the Phoenix dairy in 1959 after saving up earnings from trimming cows’ hooves on farms near Chino, Calif. After finding success in Phoenix, Danziesen’s grandfather moved the family to Stephenville in the 1980s. Danzeisen felt it was only natural to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps, so an expansion into Texas became a logical next step for his dairy operation.
Danzeisen and his partners bought a former Fujifilm processing plant just outside downtown Terrell in early 2020 with plans to create a new dairy. Instead of expanding the Phoenix operation that bears his name, Danzeisen envisioned a product that “screams Texas” and created the 1836 Farms brand. The year marks a key turning point in Texas’ battle to win independence from Mexico.
Despite the separate brands, 1836 Farms will keep several Danzeisen Dairy hallmarks, including the glass bottles and rotating seasonal flavors dreamed up by Danzeisen and his employees.
The expansion into Texas also offered Danzeisen an opportunity to produce organic products for the first time. In order to obtain organic certification, producers must adhere to restrictions on the use of pesticides and antibiotics and allow cows to graze. An organic dairy wasn’t sustainable for Danzeisen in the dry climate of Phoenix.
Despite plans for a November 2020 launch, pandemic-related delays, including difficulties importing a specialty bottle-washing machine from Switzerland, pushed the start of production at the Terrell facility to May. Following an initial launch in 90 Kroger stores, the company has expanded into almost 250 grocery stores across Texas, including Whole Foods and Sprouts, and hopes to expand to more than 300 by the end of the summer.
Danzeisen’s Texas debut comes at a precarious time for the dairy industry. Per capita fluid milk consumption declined 46% between 1980 and 2018, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
Even industry giants are struggling — two of the nation’s largest milk producers recently declared bankruptcy. Dean Foods filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2019, and Borden followed with its filing in January 2020. Dean Foods sold most of its assets to Dairy Farmers of America. Investment firms bought Borden last summer.
Although Danzeisen says that sales have outpaced projections so far, 1836 Farms has struggled to confront labor shortages affecting the U.S. economy as a whole. The glass bottle recycling program requires 1836 Farms to use a direct store delivery model and employ its own truck drivers to deliver product to stores and collect returned bottles. The limited number of drivers has affected how quickly 1836 Farms can expand, but the dairy will be ready to do so when it can.
The dairy is producing two to three times a week, making 6,000 gallons during each production run, and plans to ramp up production as distribution increases. A walk-in cooler in the Terrell facility can hold enough product for all of the stores the dairy supplies in Texas.
As pandemic restrictions lift and the economy begins to rebound, Danzeisen says he hopes that 1836 Farms can play a bigger role in Terrell. Later this summer, Danzeisen plans to open the dairy to the public for tours, and he wants to continue to expand the brand’s reach through a partnership with the Texas Rangers.
Danzeisen also sees future opportunities to develop other organic dairy products like butter as well as alternative milks, which are growing in popularity. According to the USDA, sales of plant-based milk alternatives rose 36% from 2013 to 2017, while sales of cows’ milk declined 12%. As consumers place more emphasis on the health and environmental benefits of nondairy products, many organic dairies that once targeted these more conscious consumers have shifted to producing other dairy products like yogurt and cheese.
Despite the initial hurdles the company has faced, Danzeisen is confident that 1836 Farms will only emerge stronger. “Our industry is tough. It’s a lot of work, and we have a lot of hurdles to get over, but if things taste good, people will come back, so that’s what we’re focused on,” he said.
“The milk shelf has been really boring and serious for a long time. I think we can make it fun again.”
