Valley Queen Cheese Factory
Valley Queen Cheese Factory is a privately held, single-site dairy ingredient manufacturer in Milbank, South Dakota, producing 200 million pounds of cheese annually from 1.8 billion pounds of milk for national retail, foodservice, and global food processor customers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1929
- HeadquartersMilbank, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Valley Queen Cheese Factory does
Valley Queen Cheese Factory Inc. is a privately held, single-site dairy ingredient manufacturer founded in 1929 in Milbank, South Dakota, by two Swiss immigrants. The company operates one integrated production facility at 201 S. Dakota St., Milbank, where it processes 1.8 billion pounds of milk annually from 42 dairy farms located within 90 miles of the plant, producing 200 million pounds of cheese per year, along with whey and lactose coproducts. Daily operations convert roughly 5 million pounds of milk into more than 500,000 pounds of cheese.
The company's commercial model is exclusively B2B: it sells cheese products under nationally branded blocks and shredded cheese SKUs, supplies cheese and whey ingredients to national retail brands and foodservice distributors, and acts as a key supplier partner to global food processors for use in downstream products such as candy bars. Pricing is negotiated on a contract basis with enterprise customers; no public pricing data is disclosed. Revenue is generated through three product streams (cheese, whey, lactose) sold via direct enterprise sales channels, with no consumer-facing retail or e-commerce of scale beyond a small Heritage Center & Cheese Shop in Milbank.
The company employs more than 370 people in Milbank, maintains continuous private ownership since founding, and holds the U.S. Dairy Stewardship Commitment covering food safety, quality, animal care, and environmental sustainability. It is supported by market data partnerships with EverAg and the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service for cheese yield contract bidding and producer pricing transparency. No AI/ML, software, or technology products are offered; the business is fundamentally an industrial dairy processing operation.
Valley Queen Cheese Factory firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Valley Queen Cheese Factory
- Legal name
- Valley Queen Cheese Factory Inc.
- Website
- https://valleyqueen.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1929
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Valley Queen Cheese Factory is a privately held, single-site dairy ingredient manufacturer in Milbank, South Dakota, producing 200 million pounds of cheese annually from 1.8 billion pounds of milk for national retail, foodservice, and global food processor customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Valley Queen Cheese Factory industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Dairy Manufacturing
- NAICS
- Dairy Product Manufacturing (3115), Cheese Manufacturing (311513), Dairy Product (except Frozen) Manufacturing (31151)
- SIC
- Dairy Products (2020), Food And Kindred Products (2000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cheese Manufacturing (AFAKAKAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Fluid Milk & Cream Processing (AFAKAKAA), Dairy Ingredients (Whey, Lactose, Milk Powders) Wholesale (AFAIAEAG), Cheese Byproduct & Waste Stream Processing (Whey Routing, Brine Management) (AFAHABAK)
Keywords
Where Valley Queen Cheese Factory is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Milbank
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Valley Queen Cheese Factory business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Cheese Products: Manufactures and sells cheese products including blocks, shredded cheese to national retail and foodservice companies. Products reach consumers through nationally branded cheese offerings.
- Whey Products: Produces whey products as part of dairy processing, supplied to national and global food processors for use in their own products.
- Lactose Products: Produces lactose products that are distributed through national retail and foodservice channels.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Valley Queen Cheese Factory product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Valley Queen Cheese Factory manufactures cheese, lactose, and whey products at a single integrated facility in Milbank, South Dakota. The company processes 1.8 billion pounds of milk annually from 42 regional dairy farms, producing 200 million pounds of cheese per year along with whey and lactose for use as dairy ingredients. Products are sold B2B to national retail brands, national foodservice companies, and global food processors who incorporate them into consumer cheese products and manufactured foods.
Product overview
Valley Queen Cheese Factory is a cheese and dairy ingredient manufacturing company producing cheese, lactose, and whey products. The company operates a single integrated production facility in Milbank, South Dakota, processing 1.8 billion pounds of milk annually from 42 dairy farms into 200 million pounds of cheese products. The product portfolio includes award-winning block cheese, shredded cheese, lactose, and whey products sold to national retail and foodservice companies. The company also operates a Heritage Center & Cheese Shop for visitor engagement.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Cheese Products
- Lactose Products
- Whey Products
Companies that use Valley Queen Cheese Factory
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Valley Queen Cheese Factory technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Valley Queen Cheese Factory partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.
- EverAgsupportingMarket resource partner providing cheese yield contract bid information and market price data through marketprices.dairy.com platform.
- USDA Agricultural Marketing ServicesupportingSource for daily settlement prices for cheese markets, providing transparent market pricing information.
- U.S. Dairy Stewardship CommitmentcoreValley Queen is a proud adopter of the U.S. Dairy Stewardship Commitment, joining other dairy industry organizations to assure best practices in food safety, quality, animal care, and environmental sustainability. The company is committed to tracking and reporting progress in the global marketplace.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Valley Queen Cheese Factory competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Agropur: Canadian dairy cooperative with significant U.S. cheese and whey operations supplying retail and industrial customers. Closely comparable as a large-scale cheese and dairy ingredient manufacturer with B2B distribution.
- Schreiber Foods: Employee-owned dairy processor producing natural and process cheese, cream cheese, and yogurt for retail and foodservice customers. Direct competitor in B2B cheese supply with similar customer overlap.
- Prairie Farms Dairy: Midwestern dairy cooperative producing cheese, fluid milk, and cultured dairy products. Compares through overlapping regional dairy sourcing, cheese manufacturing, and B2B customer channels in the Midwest.
- Darigold: Northwest dairy cooperative producing cheese, whey, and milk ingredients for retail and foodservice customers. Comparable as a privately structured dairy processor with cheese and whey product streams.
- Leprino Foods: The world's largest mozzarella and dairy ingredient producer, supplying national pizza chains and food processors. Directly comparable to Valley Queen as a large-scale B2B cheese and whey manufacturer serving global food customers.
- Hilmar Cheese Company: Privately held manufacturer of cheese and whey protein ingredients serving food and nutrition customers globally. Highly comparable to Valley Queen in scale, B2B model, and dual cheese/whey product portfolio.
- Great Lakes Cheese: Family-owned manufacturer of natural, processed, and aged cheeses serving retail, foodservice, and industrial customers. Comparable private-ownership profile and similar cheese product portfolio targeting national brands.
Broad incumbents
- Saputo: Large multinational dairy processor with substantial U.S. cheese and dairy ingredient operations. Comparable as a broad incumbent in B2B dairy manufacturing with overlapping customer channels.
- Glanbia Nutritionals: Global nutrition and dairy ingredients group with major cheese and whey protein operations in the U.S. Compares on the whey and dairy ingredient side of Valley Queen's business, especially nutritional whey products.
- Lactalis USA: U.S. arm of the world's largest dairy group, with a broad cheese and ingredient portfolio including Galbani and other brands. Comparable as a large-scale B2B and branded cheese competitor.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Valley Queen Cheese Factory social profiles
Digital presenceValley Queen Cheese Factory compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Valley Queen Cheese Factory financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Valley Queen Cheese Factory leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Valley Queen Cheese Factory funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Valley Queen Cheese Factory M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Valley Queen Cheese Factory
What does Valley Queen Cheese Factory do?
Valley Queen Cheese Factory manufactures cheese, lactose, and whey products at a single integrated facility in Milbank, South Dakota. The company processes 1.8 billion pounds of milk annually from 42 regional dairy farms, producing 200 million pounds of cheese per year along with whey and lactose for use as dairy ingredients. Products are sold B2B to national retail brands, national foodservice companies, and global food processors who incorporate them into consumer cheese products and manufactured foods.
Is Valley Queen Cheese Factory a public or private company?
Valley Queen Cheese Factory is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Valley Queen Cheese Factory founded?
Valley Queen Cheese Factory was founded in 1929. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Valley Queen Cheese Factory based?
Valley Queen Cheese Factory is headquartered in Milbank, United States, in the North America region.
How does Valley Queen Cheese Factory make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Cheese Products are the primary driver. The others are whey Products and lactose Products.
Who are Valley Queen Cheese Factory's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Agropur, Schreiber Foods, Prairie Farms Dairy, Darigold, Leprino Foods, Hilmar Cheese Company and Great Lakes Cheese. Broad incumbents are Saputo, Glanbia Nutritionals and Lactalis USA.
Does Valley Queen Cheese Factory have an API?
No public API is recorded for Valley Queen Cheese Factory.
What industry is Valley Queen Cheese Factory in?
Valley Queen Cheese Factory's product category is Dairy Manufacturing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAKAKAB, Cheese Manufacturing, with a secondary code of AFAKAKAA, Fluid Milk & Cream Processing. Its NAICS code is 3115 and its SIC code is 2020.