Grande Custom Ingredients Group: Leading The Whey

The Grande Custom Ingredients Group, Lomira, WI, is a business unit of Grande Cheese Company, which was founded in Wisconsin in 1941 to produce natural Italian cheese. After several decades of growth, Grande Cheese Co. decided to add Grade A whey processing to its capabilities. However, it wasn’t until 1997 that the company expanded to form Grande Custom Ingredients Group in an effort to develop innovative, dairy-based ingredients for the food and beverage industry. Today, Grande Custom Ingredients Group is part of a fully integrated network of manufacturing, packaging and warehousing facilities.

According to the company, its dairy proteins and custom ingredients begin with pure and natural, 100% Grade A fresh milk collected daily from Grande Producer Dairy Farms. This milk is then made into mozzarella and specialty Italian cheeses. Fresh, mild Grade A whey exclusively from Grande cheese is then pro­cessed into the company’s line of innovative natural ingredients.

This production system is what sets Grande apart from the competition, according to Stephen Dott, vice president. “The unique advantage of all Grande ingredients begins with its integrated Grade A production system,” he said. “Fresh Grade A milk is collected from independent dairy farms and made into natural white Italian cheese. The resulting unbleached Grade A whey is consistently the highest quality. The entire process from farm to finished product is part of our unique ‘chain of custody’ that ensures both quality and safety.”

Mr. Dott explained Grande’s focus as well as its branded product lines. “The initial focus of this business unit was on whey proteins and dairy ingredients with enhanced functionality such as water binding, emulsification and improvement of texture and flavor,” said Mr. Dott. “Two branded product lines, Grande Bravo® and Grande Gusto®, are now used by many of America’s largest food companies.”

On the new product front, Mr. Dott explained that the growing demand for high protein foods and supplements has led to the development of a new line of 80% protein products called Grande Ultra™. This line of natural whey protein concentrate (WPC) is targeted specifically to the nutraceutical and sports nutrition industries and will include Grade A, agglomerated, hydrolyzed and low lactose products. Mr. Dott discussed the new line in further detail. “The specific advantages of Grande Ultra Products start with our three-step cold filtration process, which includes nano, ultra and diafiltration,” he explained. “This low heat process ensures that products will be rich in the nutritious benefits of highly soluble undenatured whey proteins.” Mr. Dott also said Grande Ultra products are significantly lower than commodity type products in fat and ash content. Additionally, strict adherence to both quality and safety is a large concern for Grande Custom Ingredients Group. As a result, Grande Ultra products are USPH Grade A, USDA, Kosher and Halal certified.

In the end, Mr. Dott commented, “Grande is so confident in the natural purity and quality of Grande Ultra that it is proud to call it, ‘WPC…The Whey Nature Intended.’”—T.W.


Grande Custom Ingredients Group
301 East Main Street
Lomira, WI 53048-9548
Telephone: 800-772-3210
Fax: 920-269-1445
Website: www.grandecig.com