Foodservice
Foodservice Partnerships
Milk in Foodservice
The dairy checkoff focuses on food industry partnerships to further extend checkoff promotions and bring additional resources and expertise to producer-funded marketing efforts.
A great example of this is the partnership between the dairy checkoff and McDonald's® on the introduction of four new espresso drinks that contain 80 percent milk. The drinks are being introduced in 12-, 16-, and 20-ounce sizes. Regional launches will happen throughout 2008, and the products will be available in all 14,000 restaurants by early 2009.
- McDonald's is implementing store renovations and improvements to accommodate the new equipment and drive-thru changes.
- Published reports indicate that McDonald's is investing $100,000 to $150,000 per store for the specialty coffee launch.
The checkoff also works with foodservice partners to encourage cheese use on their menus. With assistance from the dairy checkoff, Domino’s Pizza® developed Cheesy Garlic Bread Pizza. Domino’s marketing efforts for the launch of the pizza, which became available at 6,000 stores nationwide, extended the value of dairy producers’ promotion investment.
The dairy checkoff has partnered with Wendy’s® to develop cheese-friendly menu items, including the Wild Mountain Chicken Sandwich and Wild Mountain Bacon Cheeseburger. Most recently, Wendy’s introduced a low-fat, strawberry-flavored yogurt cup with granola in its stores. The yogurt cup is now being offered as a side option with the chain’s Kids’ Meals. The dairy checkoff provided Wendy’s with market research, including consumer trend data, and a link between the Wendy’s and www.3aday.org Web sites to promote this product.
In 2007, Subway® became the latest quick-serve restaurant chain to offer low-fat white and reduced-fat chocolate milk in plastic, single-serve bottles on its menu. The white milk is available as part of its new Subway Fresh Fit™ menu and the chocolate milk is available a la carte in its more than 20,000 restaurants nationwide.
Subway joins Burger King®, Sonic® Drive-In, McDonald’s®, Wendy’s®, and others in offering milk in plastic bottles in nearly 60,000 restaurants nationwide.
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Based on industry analysis, foodservice chains have experienced an eight-fold increase in weekly milk sales by offering milk in plastic bottles, compared to weekly sales when offered in paperboard cartons.
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The label on the Wendy’s and Sonic milk bottles features the 3-A-Day™ of Dairy logo — the first introduction of the program into foodservice channels.
Market research shows that if all the nation’s major fast food retail chains were to offer milk in plastic, single-serve bottles nationwide, sales could increase by 250 million incremental pounds each year.