Fage International S.A. ( ) is an international

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

company founded in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, and as of 2012 headquartered in Strassen, Luxembourg. It is one of the major dairy brands in Greece. It manufactures dairy products including

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

yogurt Yogurt (; , from , ; also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to ...

and

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

. The word φάγε (pronounced "fa-yeh") is both the singular imperative verb meaning 'Eat!' and the initials Φ.Α.Γ.Ε./F.A.G.E. (Φιλίππου Αδελφοί Γαλακτοκομικές Επιχειρήσεις/"Filippou Adelphoi Galaktokomikes Epicheiriseis" or "Filippou Bros. Dairy Co.").

History

Yogurt

In 1974 the current Fage factory was built. New varieties and flavors were introduced shortly after. In 1981, exports to the European market began. Total, the first commercial

strained yogurt Strained yogurt, Greek or Greek-style yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt, kerned yogurt or labneh is yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than normal unstrained yogurt, while still preser ...

, was introduced, becoming a huge success.

Cheese

In 1991 Fage entered the cheese market, mostly manufacturing traditional Greek cheese. It produces, packs and supplies to consumers in Greece and abroad a variety of cheeses including its trademark ''Feta'' cheese. Today, Fage has a large range of cheeses including: ''Feta'', ''Graviera'', ''Trikalino'', ''Trikalino Light'', ''Gouda'', ''Edam'', ''Plagia'', ''Regato'', ''Sandwich Cheese'', ''Junior portions'', ''Junior slices'', ''Junior Meridoules'', and ''Flair''.

Milk

In 1993 Fage entered the fresh milk market, introducing ''FAGE Fresh Milk'' all over Greece. In this same year, the company built new factories exclusively for fresh pasteurized milk, a new line of pasteurization, homogenization, new machinery, and packaging. Additionally, after a significant investment in research and machinery, Fage presented a new innovative product to the Greek market, ''High Pasteurized Milk'', which created a new category of milk. Today, Fage offers a wide range of milk including its most popular ''Farma Milk''.

Current operations

In June 1999, the dioxin problems that plagued several milk exporters from Belgium started a public scare that resulted in the disposal of all dioxin-affected milk. Several months later by the Fall, Fage's dairy products became free of dioxins and the company began to use milk exported from decontaminated countries. In the late-1990s Fage began marketing its products and began selling in Belgium, France, Germany,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and the United Kingdom. From 2001 the company entered the United States where it has located its headquarters in Johnstown, NY. The yogurt was later featured in ''

Saveur ''Saveur'' is an online gourmet, food, wine, and travel magazine that publishes essays about various world cuisines. The publication was co-founded by Dorothy Kalins, Michael Grossman, Christopher Hirsheimer, and Colman Andrews. It was started ...

'' magazine. In October 2012, the company announced that it would be moving its headquarters out of Greece to Luxembourg. Reasons for the move include more favorable tax conditions, better access to bank funding, and a reduced exposure to the Greek financial crisis.

Advertising

In 2007, Fage put a billboard along the route of the

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the American-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States ...

. The billboard looked as if a

Tweety Tweety is an animated character, a yellow canary bird in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons. His characteristics are based on Red Skelton's famous "Junior the Mean Widdle Kid". He appeared in ...

balloon had become stuck in the yogurt. In 2011, Fage began airing "its first television advertisements in North America," featuring

voiceover Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...

work by actor

Willem Dafoe William James "Willem" Dafoe ( ; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. Known for his prolific career portraying diverse roles in both mainstream and arthouse films, he is the recipient of various accolades including a Volpi Cup Award for ...

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://home.fage/ Companies based in Luxembourg City Brand name yogurts Dairy products companies of Greece Food and drink companies established in 1926 Food and drink companies of Luxembourg Greek basketball chairmen and investors Greek brands Greek companies established in 1926