WhiteWave Rides Demand for Organic Foods
After an initial pop, WhiteWave Foods shares stalled in their first day of trading Friday.
The organic food company, which was spun off from Dean Foods, raised $391 million in its offering.
CEO Gregg Engles told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street," that the company is finally starting to get credit for its strong secular growth potential.
"From the time we announced our spinoff until today, we've added $1 billion of market cap to Dean Foods," Engles said. "People are really excited about the growth prospects of this firm."
WhiteWave sells the Silk soy milk and Horizon organic dairy products that have become popular with health conscious younger consumers.
(Read More: Global Food-Giant Buyouts of Top Organic Brands.)
The spinoff should also leave Dean Foods in a better competitive position in the $10 billion milk business where it already has 38 percent market share.
"One of the key outcomes of the separation that we're engaging in is to leave the milk business with just a rock solid balance sheet," Engles said. "That's what you're going to see is that the milk business is going to be positioned to compete incredibly well."
-By Justin Menza, CNBC News Writer
Questions? Comments? Email us at consumernation@cnbc.com.
