The Popular Brand That's Behind Costco's Kirkland Brand Yogurt

It's easy to be lured into Costco to grab one of their popular and famously inexpensive food court hot dogs, or to score a deal on anything from furniture to clothing. But one of the things that makes the retail giant a true destination for shoppers is its low-cost groceries. And while there are some bigger name brands to be found at your nearest location, the store also sells a number of high-quality products under its own label, Kirkland Signature. Greek yogurt is just one of these great finds — but like many Kirkland products, Costco doesn't actually manufacture this item.

Information about the makers of Kirkland-branded products is often kept quiet. However, it has been speculated that Commonwealth Dairy, which sells its own yogurts under the name Green Mountain Creamery, is also the producer of Kirkland Signature yogurt. In 2014, the company announced in a press release that it would be selling its yogurt in San Francisco-area Costco stores, with an eye on more widespread distribution in the future. Then, in his 2017 book titled "Disciplined Growth Strategies," venture capitalist and professor Peter S. Cohan stated that Ehrmann, the company that once owned Commonwealth Dairy, sold its yogurt to multiple retailers, including Costco.

When Commonwealth Dairy announced its connection to Costco in the aforementioned press release, the company was named Ehrmann Commonwealth Dairy, as it was a United States-based subsidiary of the German, family-owned Ehrmann company. In 2019, the business was purchased by Lactalis, the top dairy company in the world, which also owns brands like Parmalat, Stonyfield Organic, Brown Cow, and others. Today, Lactalis still owns the Brattleboro, Vermont-based Commonwealth Dairy.

Like the rest of Green Mountain Creamery's lineup, the Kirkland brand is organic and uses rBST-free Grade A milk. And if Costco's version is produced with the same ingredients that are used to make the creamery's other yogurts, the milk is sourced from cows near Green Mountain's Vermont or Arizona locations, or from farms in New York or New Hampshire. The yogurt is also devoid of artificial additives, preservatives, and high fructose corn syrup. 

When it comes to the taste and texture, Green Mountain Creamery boasts that its yogurt is thick and mild, and consumers have noted the same in online reviews, pointing to its balanced flavor. Similar descriptions have been written by reviewers of the Kirkland yogurt, who note its creaminess and moderate level of tanginess.