The company had long considered adding a publication addressing dairy processors, the second-largest segment of the food industry (second only to meat processing). For many years, just one magazine served that market, and in 2020, it and the rest of that publisher’s portfolio went digital only. No print editions.

“That opened the door for us,” said Charlie Sosland, chairman and chief executive officer of Sosland Publishing Co. “Matt had been a publisher with a dairy magazine before he joined us, and he kept getting calls from his previous accounts suggesting that we step into the field.”

The value of print in the business-to-business market is well understood by suppliers to the dairy industry. “We saw a big point of difference and a big opportunity,” O’Shea said.

The dairy industry, like all food processing businesses, is going through rapid transformation in terms of consumer behavior, regulatory shifts, environmental concerns, workforce challenges and the introduction of new technologies.

“Dairy Processing’s mission is to bring timely news and insights to key people in the industry as that happens,” said Kristen Putch, its managing editor. “We want to tell the stories that matter to our audience, highlight innovation and provide useful information to those key decision makers.”

The magazine recruited a longtime Sosland contributing editor, Donna Berry, to write for Dairy Processing. It also brought in Pamela Accetta Smith, the former editor of a competitive dairy magazine, as a contributing editor.

The magazine takes a processor-centric approach in its editorial content. Cover stories feature major processors and have included Dairy Farmers of America, Stonyfield Organic, Bel Brands USA and Tillamook County Creamery Association.
“I don’t see any other dairy media brand delivering those stories,” O’Shea said. “People, products and companies drive readership. We’ll continue to write about innovative and successful dairy processors.”

For example, Dairy Processing embraces milk alternatives, a controversial subject treated gingerly by other dairy publications.

“Most of the plant-based ‘milks’ are actually being done by dairies,” Berry said. “You read a lot about the decline in fluid milk, but the dairy business is doing very well as it embraces milk alternatives. Dairy Processing covers milk alternatives, the plant-based dairy alternatives, as a main subject. We don’t shy away from the topic. The people who produce these items use the same type of equipment as conventional dairy products.”

The magazine has been well accepted, and the feedback that editors and publishers have received has been wholly positive. But even the careful planning for the new magazine could not anticipate a pandemic taking place in the middle of its launch.
“Starting a print magazine in today’s media environment in the midst of a pandemic is an accomplishment in and of itself,” O’Shea said. “We ended 2021 in a very good place … we have very positive momentum moving forward.”