THIS MONTH'S HIGHLIGHTS
September 2008
DAIRY CHECKOFF UPDATE View PDF
NESTLE NESQUIK MILK, YOGURT 'SQUEEZERS' NEW AT WENDY'S
Wendy’s® and Nestle® are partnering to offer Nestle® Nesquik® milk and yogurt products at Wendy’s nearly 6,000 restaurants nationwide. Beginning this month, Wendy’s is introducing low-fat, Nesquik milk packaged in plastic bottles, along with Yogurt ‘Squeezerz’ – low-fat, strawberry yogurt in a kid-friendly, squeezable tube.
Wendy’s will promote the Nesquik milk and yogurt offerings through in-store signs and displays, Web-based communications, and public relations events to promote their kids’ meals.
Wendy’s first introduced milk in plastic bottles as part of its Kids’ Meal Choices program in 2005 and it remains a popular menu option today. When ordering a Kids’ Meal for their children, parents can substitute milk instead of a soft drink or yogurt instead of French fries for no extra charge. Today, nearly one-third of Wendy’s Kids’ Meal orders now include one of these substitutions – and use of this option continues to increase.
“We’re excited Wendy’s has selected Nestle Nesquik as part of their nutritious children’s menu,” said Cathy Dean, brand manager with Nestle Nesquik. “This is the first time that we’ve created a fortified white milk product, and we’re pleased to debut it at Wendy’s alongside our ever-popular chocolate-flavored milk.”
“Nesquik has long been a family favorite,” said Bob Holtcamp, senior vice president of marketing at Wendy’s. “We believe the introduction of Nesquik will be a real plus and will encourage even more milk consumption by our younger customers. That's a good thing.”
Dairy Management Inc.™, which manages the national dairy checkoff program, will meet with Wendy’s and Nestle to brainstorm other opportunities to grow dairy sales, including consumer market testing of new flavors, opportunities to add adult-sized milk options to the menu, and increasing sales on the breakfast menu. The checkoff investment played an integral part in creating early relationships with foodservices to include milk in plastic containers.
America’s dairy producers are leading efforts to improve the taste, texture and functionality of low-fat cheeses as part of a coordinated research initiative funded by the dairy checkoff program. The effort is part of Dairy Management Inc.’s National Dairy Foods Research Center Program, which combines research centers, application labs and universities to develop knowledge and expertise that accelerates dairy innovation.
Dairy Management Inc. sponsored a symposium that shared consumer research that highlights the growth opportunities for low-fat cheeses and announced early findings from its low-fat cheese research program at the annual American Dairy Science Association meeting in July.
“Today, consumers perceive that low-fat cheese is rubbery, sticky, lacks in flavor and does not melt well,” said Raj Narasimmon, vice president of product research at Dairy Management Inc., which manages the national dairy producer checkoff program. “Our research goal is to develop cheeses that taste good, function well and also carry a low-fat label according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations.”
According to a producer-funded consumer research study, 15 percent of adults age 20 - 54 are “cheese restrictors,” which is defined as people who restrict their cheese consumption in order to reduce fat intake. However, if low-fat cheeses are available that tastes good, has comparable texture and melts as well as full-fat cheeses, research suggests that 29 percent of cheese restrictors would increase their cheese consumption. The ultimate volume potential from cheese innovation in this area (including natural Cheddar, heart-healthy Cheddar and high-protein Cheddar) could top 400 million pounds per year at retail.
The goal of the checkoff’s low-fat cheese research program is to seize that growth opportunity by finding ways to develop low-fat natural and process cheeses with consumer-acceptable flavor, texture and functionality. As a result of the program’s progress to date, researchers seek to develop a consumer-acceptable low-fat Cheddar within one or two years, and low-fat mozzarella with desired pizza performance and low-fat slice-on-slice process cheese within one year.
For more information about checkoff-funded product research, visit www.dairycheckoff.com.
USDEC Expands Web Site
The U.S. Dairy Export Council® (USDEC), the international market development and expansion arm of the dairy checkoff program, recently updated its Web site, usdec.org, to make the site more user-friendly for browsers.
The site features a virtual library that puts the vast collection of USDEC’s U.S. and global dairy trade information in one place, including trade data, manuals, guides, brochures, sourcebooks, and strategic market reports, among other information. The site also includes an improved search engine powered by Google™. In addition, a “Spotlight” section showcases the latest news and USDEC publications. To view the updated site, visit www.usdec.org.
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