The dairy industry operates within a complex global landscape, serving both domestic and international markets to meet the growing demand for high-quality dairy ingredients. Strategic partnerships and global trade relationships are vital to expanding market reach and staying competitive. Building strong connections through collaboration, innovation, and engagement is essential for long-term resilience and growth.
At ADPI, our mission is driven by a lasting commitment to excellence, connection, and progress. Looking ahead, we are guided by three strategic pillars that define our purpose, reflect our values, and shape our leadership: Bringing People Together, Setting the Standard, and Leading the Way.
Bringing People Together
Connection is the foundation of progress. We bring together processors, traders, researchers, suppliers, and retailers to foster collaboration across the entire dairy ingredients value chain. This diverse network collectively shares knowledge, inspires innovation, and promotes sustainable practices. We’re committed to building inclusive communities, cultivating strategic partnerships, and creating spaces where collaboration thrives. By investing in sustainability, technology, and workforce development, the industry is proactively preparing for the future by strengthening both its resilience and shared sense of purpose. When we bring people together, we unlock new opportunities and amplify impact.
The following is written by Patti Smith, ADPI President & CEO, published in the November/December issue of Dairy Processing as an Association Highlight.
Setting the Standard
Excellence is not just our goal, it’s our starting point. We lead by example, holding ourselves and the industry to the highest standards of integrity, quality, and innovation. By harnessing the full potential of dairy ingredients, from high-performance proteins to premium functional dairy ingredients, we enable and encourage manufacturers and marketers to create superior formulations across a wide array of applications. Supported by robust ingredient resources and informed by the latest market insights, nutritional science, and processing advancements, we are helping shape the next generation of product excellence and advantage. At ADPI, setting the standard means pushing boundaries and driving the industry forward.
Leading the Way
We don’t follow change, we create it. Through visionary leadership and forward-thinking strategies, ADPI leads the dairy industry into the future. Our commitment to professional development ensures that individuals and organizations are equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to thrive. Through ADPI’s DairyU, our flexible, online learning database, participants access expert-led training designed to build technical skills and industry expertise. This is reinforced through our Center of Excellence, a collaborative hub designed to facilitate problem-solving through consultant-style interactions, and enable the exchange of knowledge among the brightest minds in dairy. Together, these initiatives form a strong foundation for continuous learning, leadership, and growth.
These pillars–Bringing People Together, Setting the Standard, and Leading the Way–are at the core of everything we do. They ensure that dairy ingredients continue to drive innovation, raise expectations, and deliver value. At ADPI, we align industry goals, establish consistent standards, and empower our members to do what they do best: create high-quality, innovative dairy products that nourish the world.
