2007-04-23 15:29:18 -

DALLAS, April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Dean Foods Company today announced the appointment of Rachel Cullen to the newly-created position of Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Ice Cream. Dean Foods manufactures and sells ice cream and novelties under local, regional and private label brands. Annual company sales in this category are nearly $900 million, making Dean Foods the third largest ice cream and frozen novelty company in the United States.

"Rachel Cullen brings a unique perspective to Dean Foods through the combination of her progressive marketing and operational

experience as well as her specific experience in the ice cream sector," said Alan Bernon, President, Dean Dairy Group. "We are confident that her broad capabilities will help drive our ice cream business, a segment we believe has excellent growth potential for Dean Foods."

Cullen brings over twenty years of consumer packaged goods brand marketing and strategic planning experience to this new role. Previously, Cullen played an integral role at Unilever's U.S. ice cream division. She was responsible for an extensive portfolio that included Breyers, Klondike, Popsicle and Good Humor brands. She oversaw new product development, packaging, advertising, pricing and promotion, while focusing on growth through innovation.

In this new role, Cullen will be responsible for developing and formalizing long-term strategic plans for this important growth segment including new product development, packaging, marketing and product innovation strategies. Cullen will report to Alan Bernon, President, Dean Dairy Group and will be based in Dallas.

Most recently, Cullen was Chief Operating Officer at Orange Glo International in Englewood, Colorado where she developed and implemented the company's business recovery initiative. Prior to that, Cullen was Vice President of Marketing, where she was responsible for long-range planning, advertising, consumer and trade promotion, product development and improvement, cost management and pricing.

Cullen spent the early part of her career in business development and marketing at Kraft Foods including almost four years in the cheese division. Before earning her MBA at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, she was an analytical chemist with Union Carbide.

ABOUT DEAN FOODS

Dean Foods Company is one of the leading food and beverage companies in the United States. Its Dairy Group division is the largest processor and distributor of milk and other dairy products in the country, with products sold under more than 50 familiar local and regional brands and a wide array of private labels. The Company's WhiteWave Foods subsidiary markets and sells a variety of well-known dairy and dairy-related products, such as Silk(R) soymilk, Horizon Organic(R) milk and other dairy products, and International Delight(R) coffee creamers. WhiteWave Foods' Rachel's Organic(R) brand is the second largest organic milk and organic yogurt brand in the United Kingdom.

Media Contact: Marguerite Copel Vice President, Corporate Communications (214) 721-1273 Investor Contact: Barry Sievert Senior Director, Investor Relations (214) 303-3437

Source: Dean Foods Company