DAIRY INTRODUCES BILINGUAL PACKAGING

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Swiss Dairy, which produces the top-selling milk brand in Southern California, announced it will roll out bilingual Spanish packaging on all of its products.

base includes Hispanic-focused chains like Gigante, Cardenas, El Tapatio and Numero Uno, as well as Sam's Clubs, local mass merchants, convenience stores and drug stores.

The rollout is expected to be completed this month, officials revealed.

"They deserve to be acknowledged for this move," Justo Frias, president of Gigante Markets USA, Santa Ana, Calif., said in a statement.

"Latinos count on Swiss Dairy milk for their families every day," Frias said. "It's nice to know the company is listening."

Describing the move as an effort to build and strengthen brand loyalty amid increasing competition, Swiss Dairy said it is the first California milk processor to reach out to Hispanics with a bilingual label.

The new packaging "closely reflects the diversity of our community and the backbone of our customer base," observed Ed Zimmerman, general sales manager for Swiss Dairy.

Swiss Dairy is operated by food and beverage giant Dean Foods Co. The Dean Foods Dairy Group Division is the largest processor and distributor of milk and other dairy products in the country.