The Software Company Inside an 80-Year-Old Green Bay Dairy Manufacturer
My full audio interview with Schreiber Foods about their quiet transformation says something bigger about Wisconsin innovation.
To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
While I was making the trek from Milwaukee north to Green Bay, I kinda kept saying to myself: “this has got to be worth the trip today.”
One of the things that kept me driving was that my friend Sri Kantamneni who is Executive Vice President & Chief Information & Digital Officer at the company I was headed to had promised this would be good.
He was absolutely correct.
Schreiber Foods is an 80-year-old, employee-owned dairy manufacturer headquartered in downtown Green Bay. You’ve probably never heard of them. But if you’ve had Greek yogurt this week, a cheeseburger, or picked up some protein shakes from Costco, there’s a very high probability Schreiber made it.
As Sri told me:
“You’re never going to likely see a Schreiber-labeled product. But you eat stuff that we make every day.”
That alone is a great Wisconsin story: quiet scale, global reach, and zero ego.
But that’s not why I drove up.
What’s happening inside Schreiber right now feels bigger than dairy.
The Question That Changed the Company
About five years ago, Schreiber faced a fairly normal operational decision.
They needed a warehouse management system, the software that helps run distribution centers and move food around the world.
They had two options:
Buy an existing system
Build their own platform
As Patrick Koleske, SVP - Emerging Business & Innovation over at Schreiber Foods explained:
“Are we going to build our company around a system? Or are we going to build a system around our operation?”
It’s a big question. And it’s important to think about why it’s a big question.
You see, most legacy manufacturers buy software and adapt their workflows to it. Schreiber chose the harder path. They built a proprietary system tailored to food manufacturing.
It’s called The Hive.
At first, The Hive was just for internal use. Then came the question: What if other food companies need this, too?
Today, Schreiber is commercializing The Hive. An $8 billion, Green Bay based dairy company is also a SaaS startup. Wow.
The Venture Side of Schreiber Foods
It doesn’t stop there.
Three years ago, Schreiber launched a formal corporate ventures effort. They’re investing in funds. Partnering with startups. Working alongside venture teams from major food companies globally.
They’re looking at supply chain innovation, AI, automation, food production technologies. All from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Blair Tritt, Vice President, Corporate Ventures & Digital Labs at Schreiber Foods describes it as intentionally building pipelines into the startup ecosystem. Not just dabbling, but creating structured deal flow and partnerships.
They’re connected to firms in:
California
Chicago
New York
The Middle East
Europe
Asia
Latin America
“Built strong in the Midwest, but connected to the world.”
That’s how Blair put it.
Culture, People, and Trust Matter, Too
Schreiber is one of the largest ESOPs in the country — 100% employee-owned.
And when you listen closely, that structure matters.
Innovation inside a legacy company is hard. It requires people to step out of safe lanes.
Sri said something I loved about Blair and Pat:
“Both of them over the last several years have chosen to step into the unknown…” (I call it the ‘butt-on-the-line’ roles.)
That’s trust.
When you’re employee-owned, tradeoffs are real. If one initiative gets funding, something else pauses. Everyone understands what’s at stake.
That kind of ownership changes how risk feels.
Blair described the innovation journey like getting on a rollercoaster as a kid.
That’s not how most people describe food manufacturing and warehouse software. And that’s why I love it.
Now What and Why
I’ve now sat inside enough Wisconsin companies to know some of the most interesting reinvention stories are happening inside businesses that don’t look flashy from the outside.
Schreiber makes cheese.
At the same time, the company is running a global venture network. And commercializing proprietary software. All while attracting global tech talent to a city most people only associate with our beloved Packers.
We talk a lot about “building a tech ecosystem” in Milwaukee and across the state. Maybe some of our next great software companies are hiding inside dairy plants.
And maybe the companies that look boring from the outside are the ones quietly building the future.
If I were a Wisconsin tech startup founder, I’d look to solve a problem in the space that Schreiber Foods operates. Because it’s clear that innovation is open for business in Green Bay.
Love you Milwaukee.
What ambitious readers should learn from Schreiber:
Some of the most meaningful innovation work happens inside companies that do not market themselves as “tech companies.”
If you want career leverage in the Midwest, do not ignore operationally complex businesses with strong modernization needs.
The future of innovation here may look more like transformation than disruption.
Milwaukee and Wisconsin will miss part of their own opportunity if they only recognize innovation when it shows up in startup clothing.
Here’s my entire interview with Sri, Blair, and Pat.