Leading the whey: Mullins produces dairy-based nutrition products
By Saskatoon Damm, The Star News
Wisconsin is the dairy state, and that title extends beyond just cheese and milk.
In fact, while Wisconsin is second in U.S. milk production, it is first in both cheese and whey production.
One business contributing to Wisconsin’s leading cheese and whey industry is Mullins Cheese and Whey. Mullins has been a fixture of the state’s dairy industry since 1970.
Today, Mullins is in communities throughout the state and is the largest family owned cheese plant in Wisconsin.
Their retail store and headquarters are in Mosinee, and they have cheese plants in Knowlton, and Marshfield.
Whey is a byproduct of making cheese. Per the USDA, Wisconsin produced nearly 254.49 million pounds of dry whey for human consumption in 2023, which accounted for about 28.7 percent of national production. Also in 2023, Wisconsin made 3.5 billion pounds of cheese, adding up to 24.7 percent of the national total.
“At full capacity we convert 8 million lbs. of milk a day into 850,000 lbs. of cheese a day which converts into approximately 50,000 lbs. of WPI [whey protein isolate] a day or approximately 28 loads a month,” said Tyler Gilles, sales and marketing representative from Mullins. Given those figures, Mullins produces approximately 310 million pounds of cheese and 18 million pounds of whey each year.
Mullins offers many flavors of whey protein powder. They have the classics of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. Other unique flavors they feature include cold coffee brew, mint chocolate, orange creamsicle, and salted caramel.
On how Mullins Cheese got started in the whey business, Gilles said, “Years of continuous growth to Mullins Cheese led to the install of our first sweet whey condensing plant in 1988. The 1990’s and early 2000’s were met with more growth opportunities resulting in the construction of a state-of-the-art whey processing facility. In 2001, Mullins Whey was established when entering the whey protein isolate (WPI) market. Since then, growth through innovation has led us to offer a prominent brand line of dried whey products for the human nutrition and animal feed industries. Today, we continue to push the envelope of dairy based product offerings.”
As a large part of Wisconsin’s dairy industry, Mullins works with many farmers. “Mullins contracts milk from approximately 600 local dairy farms that count on us to take in milk and to be operational 365 days a year,” Gilles stated. All of these dairies are within a 90 mile radius of : Mullins’ plants.
In explaining the whey production process, Gilles said, “Once the milk is received it is converted into cheese within 6 to 10 hours. At that point the whey is micro-fractioned (separated) using cross-flow filtration within 24 hours. It’s this fast converting process that is part of why the Mullins product is some of the highest quality WPI in the world.”
The whey is then sold to customers who value its health benefits. As listed by Gilles, whey’s advantages include, “Recovery: a healthy source loaded with amino acids and branches- chair amino acids (BCAA’s) known to repair and grow muscle and decrease soreness and muscle fatigue. Health & Wellness: Excellent source of Glutamine (glutamic acid), an amino acid vital to a healthy digestive system with immune boosting capabilities. Additional amino acids are linked to anti-inflammatory as well as blood insulin management.”
Considering the rich proteins whey contains, many people who work out consume it in the form of protein powder. Mullins Whey protein powder is sold at Stronger Version Fitness in Medford. “We decided to partner with Mullins Whey for all of our protein shakes. It was a no-brainer as they partner with a lot of our farmers, and they don’t use a lot of extra junk in their protein powders,” said Adam Rodman, owner of Stronger Version Fitness.
“Together, Integrity & Strong Work Ethic Provides Opportunity In Growth Both Personally & Professionally.” This is the culture statement of Mullins. Their website displays images dating back to the early days of the company in 1970, expressing eventual i that they are a business that values “growth through innovation” while remaining “rooted in tradition.”
“In true Wisconsin tradition, our story begins in a tavern. Emil Wimmer & Mel Mullins were both cheesemakers and bar buddies. Emil didn’t have any sons of his own while Mel had three, two of which would come work for Emil and one of which would eventually became his son-in-law. John & Bernice continued the tradition passed on by their fathers eventually passing it on to their own children and grand children. Today, the Mullins Family operates the largest family owned cheese manufacturing & whey processing facilities in the state of Wisconsin,” Mullins’ website states.
With an eye to the future, Mullins looks to support sustainability. “Mullins is dedicated to providing premier products to our customers while being conscious of our environmental impact. Our commitment to growth through innovation allows us to strive for component optimization in order to minimize our carbon footprint. Mullins is also a proud participant of the FARM (Farmers Assuring Responsible Management) Program, which provides standards in Animal Care, Environmental Stewardship (ES), Antibiotic Stewardship and Workforce Development.”
