Posted on: Saturday, November 20, 2004

Foremost brand name survives closure

By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer

Meadow Gold Dairies said yesterday it has purchased from Foremost Dairies-Hawaii the Foremost brand name, its fleet of trucks and other equipment from its former competitor.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The purchase helps ensure the Foremost brand, which has been sold locally for 51 years, will remain on store shelves.

Not included in the deal were the Foremost factory and the land it sits on at 2277 Kamehameha Highway. Those are being sold separately by Newfair Investments LLC, which is run by executives of Island Insurance Cos.

Talks are under way to sell the 4-acre, fee-simple parcel, said Scott Gomes, vice president at CB Richard Ellis Hawaii Inc., which is listing the property.

"There's been a tremendous amount of interest in it," he said.

Foremost closed in October, just nine months after being purchased by a group of investors led by Big Island dairyman Bahman Sadeghi. The business was forced to close because it could not afford to fix problems in the Kalihi factory, according to Sadeghi.

Employment at Foremost, which had been about 120 people this summer, had fallen to 87 people when the factory closed. Meadow Gold, through public relations agency Communications Pacific, said it has hired 30 former Foremost workers.

Meadow Gold is owned by Dallas-based Dean Foods Co.

Foremost's closure leaves Meadow Gold as Hawai'i's sole major milk processor, but so far that hasn't affected the availability of fresh milk and other dairy products, said Randy Kamiya, milk specialist with the Department of Agriculture.

The continuation of the Foremost brand should be good for consumers, he said.

"The way we look at it, the more, different brands we have, the more choices consumers have," Kamiya said.

Reach Sean Hao at 525-8093 or shao@honoluluadvertiser.com.