Gay Lea


Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Limited is a dairy products co-operative in Canada producing butter, sour cream, cottage cheese, whipped cream and lactose free milk for retail, foodservice, industrial and export markets. Gay Lea also produces a new product called "Spreadables", which is a spreadable butter, made as a canola oil and butter blend, that tastes like butter but is spreadable directly out of the fridge. The company is based in Mississauga, Ontario and owned and operated by Ontario milk producers, currently representing approximately thirty-five per cent of all Ontario dairy farms.

History

The company was founded in 1958 as United Dairy and Poultry Co-operative Limited and later renamed Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Limited, to reflect the brand name of its products.
In 1981, Gay Lea purchased the 106-year-old Teeswater Creamery.
In October 2016, Gay Lea acquired Canadian butter maker Stirling Creamery

Operations