New horizon for dairy: IPO creates first public organic food company.(Dealmakers '99)(initial public offering of Horizon Dairy)

Horizon Dairy shipped its first case of organic yogurt in 1992. At the time, the relatively untested market for organic dairy products was served by a few small local organic dairies. Horizon's only product in 1992 was organic yogurt and annual sales were about $40,000.

Today, Horizon Organic sells about $50 million worth of certified organic milk, eggs, dairy products and juices in more than 8,100 supermarkets and natural food stores. With its happy cow logo, the Longmont-based dairy is the only national fresh milk brand in the country and accounts for about 70 percent of the nation's organic dairy market.

Mark Retzloff, Marc Peperzak and Paul Repetto founded Horizon in 1991 with $200,000 of their savings. Retzloff is a cofounder of the Alfalfa's Markets …