What Anderson Custom Processing does

Anderson Custom Processing, Inc. is a family-owned toll manufacturer founded in 1972 by Glen B. Anderson, currently operated by second-generation family members Brian G. Anderson (Chairman) and David S. Anderson (President). The company provides custom spray drying services for food, beverage, infant formula, pharmaceutical, hair care, cosmetics, and paper product manufacturers throughout the United States, processing customer-supplied ingredients under private label arrangements. It operates two production facilities — Little Falls, MN (three spray dryers with 2,000–3,500 lbs/hour water evaporation capacity) and Belleville, WI (two clean room-certified spray dryers each capable of removing 4,000 lbs of water per hour for micro-sensitive products) — collectively producing millions of pounds of specialty products annually on a 24/7 basis with approximately 75 total employees.

The company's underlying technology centers on industrial spray drying, a process in which liquid ingredients are atomized and contacted with hot air to rapidly remove moisture and produce stable powder products. Anderson Custom Processing has continuously updated its equipment and processes over 50 years to maintain technology leadership in food ingredient spray drying, with BRC certification and SMETA 4-Pillar Audit compliance enabling qualification as a preferred supplier to enterprise customers in regulated supply chains. Its product portfolio includes spray-dried food starches, non-dairy creamer, and cheese blends, all manufactured to customer specifications and packaged in bags, boxes, drums, and totes.

The business model is contract-based toll manufacturing: customers supply ingredients, Anderson Custom Processing processes them under defined specifications, and returns finished goods under the customer's private label. Revenue is generated through negotiated processing fees rather than product sales, with pricing likely varying by volume, ingredient sensitivity, packaging format, and regulatory requirements. The go-to-market approach is direct enterprise sales through long-standing customer relationships built over four decades, supplemented by BRC/SMETA certifications that reduce buyer qualification friction. The company serves a horizontally diversified base across food/beverage, pharmaceutical, and consumer product verticals, with no publicly disclosed revenue, pricing, or contract terms.

Name

Anderson Custom Processing

Legal name

Anderson Custom Processing, Inc.

Website

https://andersonprocessing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Anderson Custom Processing is a family-owned toll manufacturer founded in 1972 that provides custom spray drying services for food, beverage, infant formula, pharmaceutical, and consumer product companies across the United States from two certified production plants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contract Spray Drying & Toll Manufacturing Services

NAICS

Soft Drink Manufacturing (312111)

akta.pro primary industry

Powdered & Dry Beverage Mix Co-Packing (Instant Drinks, Sachets) (AFAFAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Powdered & Instant Beverage Mix Manufacturing (Drink Mixes) (AFAFABAL)

Keywords

• Custom spray drying
• Toll manufacturing services
• Food ingredient processing
• Private label processing
• Pharmaceutical spray drying

Headquarters

HQ city

Little Falls

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Toll Manufacturing Services: Anderson Custom Processing operates as a toll manufacturer performing custom spray drying to customers' products under contract. The company processes customer-supplied ingredients and returns finished products for customer private label distribution. Revenue is generated through processing fees for spray drying services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Anderson Custom Processing is a toll manufacturer that provides custom spray drying services for customer-supplied ingredients at its two U.S. production plants (Little Falls, MN and Belleville, WI), which house five spray dryers. The company processes food, beverage, infant formula, pharmaceutical, hair care, cosmetics, and paper product ingredients under contract and returns finished products to customers for distribution under their own private labels, generating revenue through processing fees.

Product overview

Anderson Custom Processing operates as a toll manufacturer providing custom spray drying services from two production plants equipped with five dryers. The company offers a unified service offering centered on custom spray drying, processing customer-supplied ingredients under contract for private label applications. The portfolio includes core spray drying services along with specific product categories such as Food Starches, Non-Dairy Creamer, and Cheese Blends, all manufactured to customer specifications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Spray Drying Services

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Broad incumbents

• Saputo Ingredients: Ingredient division of Saputo Inc. producing spray-dried whey, lactose and dairy ingredients for food and nutrition manufacturers. A larger incumbent competing in similar end markets.
• Balchem Corporation: Public specialty ingredient manufacturer with significant spray drying capacity serving human nutrition, animal nutrition and industrial markets. A larger, multi-technology incumbent competing for the same contract manufacturing customers.
• Land O'Lakes Ingredients: Cooperative-owned ingredient manufacturer producing spray-dried dairy components including whey proteins and milk powders for food and beverage customers. Larger incumbent with overlapping US customer base.
• Agropur Ingredients: Cooperative-owned dairy ingredient manufacturer with multiple spray drying facilities across North America. Competes for contract drying of whey proteins and dairy-based ingredients in the same US customer base.

Direct peers

• Glanbia Nutritionals: Operates a global network of custom spray drying facilities serving food, beverage, infant formula and nutrition customers with toll and proprietary ingredient manufacturing. Directly comparable in core capability, customer base, and BRC/SQF certification footprint.
• Hilmar Ingredients: US-based dairy ingredient manufacturer operating large-scale spray drying for whey, milk proteins and lactose. Overlaps directly with Anderson's dairy spray drying capability and private-label service model.
• Dairy America: Federated cooperative that markets and manufactures spray-dried dairy ingredients including non-fat dry milk and whey products for global food customers. Directly comparable in spray drying capability and customer type.
• First District Association: Minnesota-based dairy cooperative operating spray drying facilities for member milk and contract customers in the upper Midwest. Same geographic region and overlapping customer set as Anderson.
• Proliant Dairy Ingredients: US contract manufacturer of spray-dried dairy ingredients including whey, permeate and lactoferrin for food, nutrition and animal health applications. Closely comparable toll model and product mix.
• Continental Dairy Products: US-based private label and contract dairy ingredient manufacturer offering spray-dried cream, cheese blends and custom formulations. Closely comparable in private-label toll manufacturing focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Anderson Custom Processing