The Company Behind Costco's Kirkland Signature Greek Yogurt

Costco offers a truly mind-boggling number of store-brand products, typically sold under the company's beloved Kirkland label. However, before you start imagining massive Costco production plants, it's important to remember that the warehouse club gets a lot of help from well-known food producers that are more than happy to sell their wares in large quantities. The result is that savvy shoppers can enjoy name brand-quality products but with typical low Costco prices. That certainly seems to be the case with Kirkland Signature Greek yogurt.

The item is likely produced by Ehrmann Commonwealth Dairy, the American subsidiary of German food giant Ehrmann. The revelation comes from the 2017 book "Disciplined Growth Strategies" by businessman and associate professor Peter Cohan. According to Cohan, Ehrmann also supplies other retailers with its yogurt to sell under their own store-brand names. Yet, unlike some Kirkland products Costco that customers get behind, this hasn't been publicly confirmed by either company, and the packaging doesn't directly reveal the source.

Ehrmann Commonwealth Dairy products are sold throughout the United States under a number of names, most prominently Green Mountain Creamery. The Vermont-based company was established in 2009 and rapidly expanded through its early years, earning its rumored Costco partnership less than a decade later.

Yogurt lovers will quickly understand why Costco teamed up with Ehrmann Commonwealth Dairy, with the high quality and low price of Kirkland Signature Greek yogurt earning it a spot among the best Kirkland dairy products to buy at Costco. A Mashed reviewer described the yogurt as "thick, creamy, [and] tangy" and praised it for its versatility with both sweet and savory recipes. At the same time, it's important to remember that since yogurt can lose quality when frozen, shoppers will need to finish it in a week or two at most or risk it going bad, wasting both food and money.

Ehrmann is just one of many popular food companies taking part in what's known as "white labeling," where retailers contract with established producers to supply them with their wares, which are then rebranded to the particular store's needs. This is one of the most important things you should know about Costco's Kirkland brand. Its offerings have included quality items like Starbucks coffee, Duracell batteries, Reynolds aluminum foil, Hormel bacon, and more.

Although Costco might sometimes make it a little more complicated, the source of these products often comes out in other ways, like the revelations in Peter Cohan's book. Still, at the end of the day, it's just more proof of the quality Costco shoppers can expect from Kirkland brand products.