The A2 Milk Company is a New Zealand licensor and marketer of fresh milk, infant formula, and other dairy products that lack the A1 beta-casein protein. The firm was founded in 2000 by Corran McLachlan, who developed a genetic test to determine which proteins a cow produces in its milk, and business partner Howard Patterson. The company has been through a tumultuous history of receivership, legal battles, and strategic shifts, but emerged in its current structure in 2006 and listed publicly in March 2013.