Our Story

Beginning as a Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, milk products manufacturer in 1940, and originally called Zausner Foods Corporation, AFP revolutionized its capabilities as a dairy foods business in 1951 when it launched use of cutting-edge low-acid aseptic technology.

In the early 1960s, the company began to transition, investing in an entire system that could process and package milk safely and efficiently. After a disastrous fire razed the Pennsylvania facility, a new and expanded cheese plant was constructed, and for approximately a decade, the company capitalized on markets for cottage cheese and cream cheese. Mergers with Tuxedo Foods Company and East Smithfield Farms changed the dynamics for the growing dairy company, as did emergent public interest in canned puddings and shelf-safe products.

Beginning in 1978, as French ownership by Groupe Bongrain (today Savencia) allowed the company to expand further, various product lines and packaging options were introduced—including beverages and flexible pouches. The company purchased the Real Fresh® brand, a shelf-stable dairy leader, in 1988, consolidating with pudding brand Major Smith in 1992. The Visalia, California, plant also opened during this era, advancing production capabilities and West Coast competitive advantage.

In 2001, the enterprise became AFP advanced food products llc—with real efforts to streamline the company into its niche as a producer of low-acid aseptically packaged products—focused on cheese sauces, puddings and beverages. Clear Lake, Wisconsin, offered AFP a northern plant opportunity, with multiple capital investments bringing new form-fill-seal technology and increasing production capacities.