Ricardo Rico

In 2001, Ricardo Rico was working in the cooler at Clover, immersing himself in product — how it was made, where it came from, what ingredients were in it. He was not new to dairy. During his time at Petaluma Creamery, Rico received both his pasteurizer’s and weight/ samples license along with a commercial class A license. Clover would prove to be a turning point in Rico’s career path. Within six months, he became a driver for Clover, maneuvering large trucks through the often narrow streets and tight corners of Northern California cities.

“When you drive around in a Clover truck, people wave at you and shout a pun!” (Clover has a tradition of witty and adorable cow-based puns.)

So Rico drove his routes, which included Santa Rosa and San Jose — an experience that put him in close touch with retailers and consumers alike and made him increasingly aware of their strong affection for the brand. “There are people who think milk is just milk. But people who choose Clover know the difference. They understand what a difference it makes where your milk comes from, the value of family farms and the local freshness of our milk, for example, and why all this matters.”

He drove for four-and-a-half years and became well-acquainted with who bought Clover product and why. In 2007, he joined the sales team where his driving experience and insights into customers paid off. He became Regional Sales Manager for Northern California in 2013 and Distributor Manager in 2015.

“People love the local aspect of Clover. They trust the brand,” Rico says. Certainly part of that feeling comes from being a company that’s been around for over a hundred years, producing a product that is not only delicious but also rich in tradition and integrity — from treatment of the cows to its outstanding network of local farmers to its best practices in making milk that is clean, simple, and good.

“It’s a wonderful place to work,” Rico adds. “Clover allows you to grow with the company.”

And the company continues to grow and expand — both its product line and territory, while keeping alive its local tradition and dedication to purity, all the while looking forward to the next hundred years.