Crystal Creamery was founded in 1901 by George Knox in Sacramento, California, as Crystal Cream & Butter.[1][2] In 1921, Crystal Cream & Butter was purchased by Carl Hansen, a Danish immigrant. The Hansen family led the company for the next 86 years and pioneered many new technologies, growing Crystal Cream & Butter into one of the largest independent dairy processors in the state of California. In 2007, Crystal Cream & Butter was acquired by HP Hood, who sold it later that year to Foster Dairy Farms, which had been founded in 1941 by Max and Verna Foster, a venture that followed the 1939 founding of their Foster Farms. Today, Crystal Creamery claims to be the "largest privately owned dairy in California."[3]
In 2008, Foster Farms Dairy announced its intention to rebrand itself as Crystal Creamery.[4] In 2009, Foster Farms Dairy acquired Humboldt Creamery, based in Fernbridge, California (near Eureka). The name change was phased in from 2009 to 2012.