Horizon milks its success naturally

LONGMONT — At its inception, the only product Horizon Organic Holding Corp. offered was organic, nonfat yogurt.

Today, the Longmont-based organic-food company produces almost 60 organic products. It is the only dairy in the country that offers nationwide distribution of fresh milk — organic or conventional.

Unique in its scope, Horizon is also enjoying remarkable growth. The company’s sales increased 67 percent from 1997 to 1998, hitting a record $49.4 million in 1998. Sales for 1997 totaled $29.6 million.

“This year marks a terrific turning point for the company,´ said Barney M. Feinblum, president and CEO of Horizon. “We continued to show strong sales growth and also achieved profitable operations in 1998.”

Mark Retzloff and Paul Repetto founded Horizon in 1991. In less than a decade, they turned the company into the leading producer of organic dairy products in the United States.

The partners are no strangers to the natural foods market. Repetto is former president of Westbrae Natural Foods, a soy-milk manufacturer, and Retzloff co-founded Alfalfa’s Markets, a chain of health-food grocery stores started in Colorado and purchased by Wild Oats Markets in July 1997.

Feinblum joined the company in 1995. Prior to working for Horizon, he served as vice chairman of Celestial Seasonings Inc., an herbal-tea company based in Boulder.

At company headquarters in Longmont, Horizon employs about 50 people. Even though it moved to its current building only 11/2 years ago, the company has already outgrown its office.

“Headquarters is growing like crazy,´ said Amy Barr, director of corporate communications and investor relations at Horizon.

Across the country, Horizon products are sold in more than 8,100 health-food stores and supermarkets. With 18 facilities located in 10 states, Horizon is able to offer nationwide distribution. The company claims 98 percent of the U.S. organic dairy market and 3 percent of the milk market.

“Without Horizon’s vision that the organic dairy market would be prosperous, we probably wouldn’t see organic, fluid milk in the marketplace,´ said Katherine DiMatteo, executive director of the Organic Trade Association, a Massachusetts-based association that represents the organic-food industry.

All Horizon products are made without the use of antibiotics, pesticides or hormones. And Horizon feeds its cows only 100 percent organic feed.

Last September, the company expanded out of the organic-dairy market and started producing organic juice. The not-from-concentrate, pasteurized, organic juice comes from growers in Florida and California.

The term “organic” refers to the methods used to raise agricultural products. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is establishing organic standards. For now, however, third-party organizations, states and private companies certify organic foods. Quality Assurance International, a third-party certification organization, certifies Horizon products organic.

In 1997, Horizon ranked No. 66 on the Inc. 500’s list of fastest-growing private companies. The company’s sales growth increased 2,939 percent from 1993 to 1997, jumping from less than a million dollars in sales in 1993 to almost $30 million in 1997.

Shortly after the Inc. 500 listing, Horizon Organic went public. The company is now traded on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol “HCOW.”

Going public helped the company financially, Barr said. Despite its high sales, the company was always in the red, she said.

Because organic dairies are in short supply, Horizon spent millions of dollars establishing two organic dairy farms. The company spent $5 million and established the largest organic dairy farm in the country in Idaho. The 4,000-acre farm has about 6,800 cows, of which 3,500 are milking at any given time. One-half of the acreage on the Idaho farm is devoted to organic feed crops.

Horizon also started an organic dairy farm in Maryland. The 470-acre farm on the Eastern Shore includes 360 acres that grow organic feed.

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