Karoun Dairies S. A. L. Lebanon

The KAROUN dairy "LAITERIE KAROUN" was established in Beirut, in 1931, by Ohannes Baghdassarian who, appropriately, chose as the company's name and trademark the Armenian word for springtime. Initially a small-scale manual operation, KAROUN steadily improved its production methods and became a pioneer in the Middle Eastern dairy industry. After world war two KAROUN invented a new process to produce hygienically and industrially the very popular product in the Middle East: drinking yogurt. This production method is still in use till now. This made KAROUN the preeminent brand for drinking yogurt. In 1952, KAROUN DAIRY introduced pasteurization and began to home deliver fresh pasteurized milk in glass bottles in addition to distributing its other products-yogurt, laban, labneh, drinking yogurt, whip cream, cheese and butter, to hotels and restaurants in Beirut, and some retail stores in its neighborhood. KAROUN owned also its own retail store in the central district of Beirut specialized in its own products and some other related products. In 1963 the distribution system was entirely reorganized to cover the totality of Lebanon: its fleet of delivery vans distributed KAROUN products exclusively to retailers, hotels and restaurants. KAROUN Dairy was the first to introduce in Lebanon the one-way plastic containers in 1968 replacing the returnable glass bottles of fresh milk and drinking laban. It was also a pioneer in introducing the round plastic cups replacing the jars of clay of yogurt. The same year KAROUN DAIRY began to market for the first time in Lebanon yogurt with real fruits under the brand "YOFRUIT". In 1971, Ara Baghdassarian the owner's son took over marketing and administration. As demand for KAROUN'S products continued to exceed output despite several increases in capacity, it was decided to undertake yet another expansion: to transform the firm into a corporation and erect a new plant. Thus Ara Baghdassarian, Alice and Khatchik Khatchadourian founded KAROUN DAIRIES S. A. L. (authorized on March 23, 1972) . A modern plant having a capacity of 2000 l / hour expandable to 4000l / hour of milk was built in the Beirut suburbs of Bauchrieh, Mount Lebanon near KAROUN'S consumer base and on main crossroads for easy service of different regions. It is fully equipped to produce efficiently fresh dairy products and to be CIP cleaned. It has its own laboratory and maintenance facilities. In 1996, for the first time in Lebanon, KAROUN introduced laban, labneh and drinking laban in NO FAT-NO SALT varieties. In 2007, KAROUN DAIRIES INC. registered in New Brunswick began operations supplying Near Eastern cheeses to retailers in Canada. Braided String Cheese, Akawi, Nabulsi and other specialty cheeses are produced in the traditional artisan Middle Eastern way from first quality Canadian cow milk. The same year, KAROUN DAIRIES S. A. L. licensed to KARLACTI, Inc. , a USA corporation, its logo, trade dress, processes and formulae. Watch for our products that will be soon on the US market. The Original KAROUN DAIRIES S. A. L. endorses all KARLACTI brand products which are under its constant superision. KARLACTI, Inc. is the sole licensee of KAROUN DAIRIES in the USA. KAROUN DAIRIES' objective has always been to make available to every individual fresh dairy products of premium quality by applying hygienic practices. The 77 years old yet modern Lebanese dairy was built up on the principles of very strict quality standards. Quality control, based on elaborated methods and directives, ebraces Raw Material Control, Process Control and final Product Control which assures that the standards of microbiological purity; chemical characteristics and packaging standards are fulfilled. In our continuous growth path based on deep sited roots in solid ground, we are ready to cooperate with strategic partners on our mission: providing healthy and natural food and refreshments to all.