Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended					1 Months Ended
	Aug. 26, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2013 Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets	Dec. 31, 2012 Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets	Dec. 31, 2013 Morningstar	Oct. 31, 2012 WhiteWave Foods	May 23, 2013 WhiteWave Foods Common Class A	May 01, 2013 WhiteWave Foods Common Class A	May 01, 2013 WhiteWave Foods Common Class B	Oct. 31, 2012 WhiteWave Foods Common Class B	May 15, 2013 Minimum	Dec. 31, 2013 Minimum Brand
Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Number of local and regional brands and private labels														50
Reverse stock split ratio	0.5												0.5
Net proceeds used to retire under senior secured credit facility			$ 58,034,000	$ 91,958,000			$ 1,450,000,000
Percentage of common stock shares to be retained								86.70%	19.90%
Voting Power of outstanding shares								98.50%				100.00%
Dividend declared										47,686,000	67,914,000
Common stock shares outstanding to be retained									34,400,000
Assets held for sale					4,500,000	700,000
Tax provision for accumulated foreign earnings		0
Accumulated foreign earnings		12,700,000
Advertising expense		22,000,000	28,600,000	30,700,000
Prepaid advertising expenses		2,300,000	600,000	1,600,000
Shipping and handling costs		1,200,000,000	1,200,000,000	1,200,000,000
Research and development expense		$ 1,800,000	$ 2,100,000	$ 3,500,000