Springfield Creamery, a multigenerational family-run business in Lane County, Ore., continues to grow despite challenges in the overall dairy industry.

The creamery, founded in 1960, is best known for its brand, Nancy’s Probiotic Foods, which is sold in every state. Nancy’s products include yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, sour cream and cream cheese.

Although consumer demand has dropped from its peak during COVID-19, the family that runs the creamery says demand for Nancy’s products is still higher than pre-pandemic — good news for the creamery and the farms it buys ingredients from.

“Business has not fallen off by any means,” said Sheryl Kesey Thompson, vice president of marketing at Nancy’s and the daughter of the company’s founders.

Blake Thompson, chief innovation officer and Sheryl’s son, said the creamery will “continue to scale, to employ more people in the community and play a bigger role in the dairy sector.”

Springfield Creamery buys milk from about a dozen organic dairy farms and another dozen conventional dairy farms across Oregon and Washington.

Nancy’s creates products from different types of milk, such as conventional yogurt, organic yogurt and yogurt produced with milk from 100% grass-fed cows.

Nancy’s also buys strawberries, blueberries and blackberries grown in the Pacific Northwest from regional fruit processing companies.

Blake said part of what has set Nancy’s apart from competitors and allowed the brand to stay profitable even with zigzags in the dairy market is the quality of the regionally purchased ingredients.

When Sheryl’s parents started making yogurt, the number of competing brands was relatively small and it wasn’t too hard to differentiate from competitors because Nancy’s was the first commercial brand in the U.S. to add probiotics to yogurt.

In recent years, however, new players have flooded the market.

“How has the yogurt market changed over time? For one thing, it’s gotten busier. It’s definitely a crowded shelf there,” Sheryl said.

The Thompsons have kept the same basic recipe for decades, although they have added new probiotic strains along the way.

They have also worked to gain new consumers by educating younger generations about dairy’s nutritional properties, the value of live probiotics and the sustainability of their farm partners.

Springfield Creamery also has supplementary revenue streams, including co-packing for other companies. The creamery is expanding its co-packing operation and processed twice as much organic milk in 2022 as in 2021.

“Diversification is key,” Blake said.

The Thompsons say they hope to continue operating a family-run business for decades to come.

In 1960, fresh from college and newly married, Chuck and Sue Kesey opened Springfield Creamery. Chuck had majored in dairy science at Oregon State University; Sue handled the accounting side.

The early years were rocky, and Sheryl recalls her parents “lived on a shoestring.”

Over time, they built up a national brand.

Sheryl and her brother, Kit, grew up in the creamery as taste-testers for new products.

Kit continued at the creamery and is now vice president of operations.

Sheryl took time away to raise three kids and work as a speech pathologist, but she ultimately returned and helps lead the creamery while her parents are in semi-retirement.

Sheryl’s sons — Taylor, Grant and Blake — hold leadership roles in the business.

The family members say they are happy to be able to support other family-owned businesses, including farms, in their region.