Episode 33 - Is There A Dairy Renaissance Coming? YES!

Barb O'Brien, CEO of Dairy Management Inc., and Marilyn Hershey, a Pennsylvania dairy farmer and Chair of DMI, discuss the "dairy renaissance" in US, driven by increased consumer engagement, health professional recommendations, and innovative social media campaigns. 

O’Brien emphasizes the "Now, Next, Future" strategy, with the “Now” focus on immediate results, “Next” on ongoing science and partnership investments, and “Future” of long-term industry growth strategies. 

They also stressed the importance of national and local collaboration, ensuring efficient use of funds and maximizing impact.

Tune in to find out more!

Host & Guest:

• Host: Marilyn Hershey, Pennsylvania dairy farmer and Chair of Dairy Management Inc.
• Guest: Barb O’Brien, President and CEO of Dairy Management Inc.

Transcript (AI-generated, please ignore typos)

Scott Wallin   0:00  

Welcome to the your dairy check off podcast. I'm Scott Wallen with dairy management Incorporated. And today we have a very special episode for you. We're in Phoenix, Arizona, where we're at the joint annual meeting of the National Milk Producers Federation and the Dairy Checkoff. And today we have Barbara O'Brien, who is CEO and President of dairy management Incorporated, and Marilyn Hershey, who is a Pennsylvania dairy farmer and Chair of dairy management Incorporated, and together, they will be having a conversation about Meeting Highlights and strategies that are driving sales and trust of us dairy Well,

Marilyn Hershey   0:31  

Barb, it's great to sit down with you and to be here with you and just ask you a few questions. So you know, in your presentation, you talked about Renaissance and the US dairy experience is a renaissance. Can you explain that more?

Barb O'Brien   0:47  

Oh, absolutely, I'm happy to, frankly, because it's it's been growing. It's been this growing momentum that I and we should all be feeling in terms of a consumer renaissance and a renaissance for dairy in people's lives. You know, I think it starts fundamentally with some of the work we're doing in science, and taking that science to a very important influencer group, and that's health professionals. So as you know, we work with National Medical Association, National Hispanic Medical Association, the Mayo Clinic, the American Academy of Pediatrics and others to share that science to ensure those professionals who are meeting with patients every day and making recommendations around their diet and where dairy fits in their diet, our science is breaking through. There are fundamental shifts we're seeing with some of the health health community, where they're reconsidering and, importantly, re recommending dairy in the diet. So I think it starts there, Marilyn, but then you think about social and I, as I think I said it on stage yesterday, I didn't know there were so many recipes for cottage cheese, and I personally have tried many of them, but it's cottage cheese and it's coke and milk and it's, you know, I feel like we've just scratched The surface in terms of the potential of this incredible portfolio of products that we have, and consumers are having fun, which is what, which is what dairy is all about. It's the joy of dairy. In any event, just tracking social conversations, there's a 29% increase in social conversations around dairy. We're talking, you know, we're talking about double digit millions of social posts and 99,000 new recipes in this year alone. So again, there's just this, this growing momentum. And then you've got celebrity engagement, you know, and that's usually an important signal that we've caught the attention of others. But, you know, it's tick tock, it's YouTube. We've got that buzz going. And thus, so the last piece, piece of it, then, is to look at the sales data, and the social buzz, buzz, in my mind, is converting to sales, and we see growth for the first 10 months of the year across all dairy categories and across the entire country. So for me, that's that's the indication of a real Renaissance, and it's our intention to keep that Renaissance going.

Marilyn Hershey   3:36  

That's amazing. You know, it's interesting. My recipe books sit on the shelf and I don't even open them up, because the first place I look is, is online. Same

Barb O'Brien   3:45  

here, same here. And I think now that I have been so active, I just, I get them every day. Oh, absolutely. You know, you don't even fall through

Marilyn Hershey   3:52  

the feet Exactly. You know, we talk about sales and trust a lot, and it's really kind of the foundation message of our dairy check off. You also talk about now, next and future and so explain that. Go into a little more detail about the now, next, future.

Barb O'Brien   4:10  

Yeah, it's just, it's an important construct that I use, that the staff uses, to think about our work and how we look at the time horizon of the work we do on your behalf. The primary focus is on the here and now, because I know, as an investor in this program, you want to see results. So I look at the food service work that we've been doing for many years now, that generally is an innovation process that takes anywhere from 12 to 18 months to get a new product, to get a new menu item up and running. But importantly, at the end of the year, I can report to you number of new products, new volume sold, etc. We have a three year plan, and we're constantly learning what works and what doesn't. It. So the fundamental strategies we start to evolve, and a couple of areas that we're looking at positive evolution is the continued importance and investment in science. We're doing more and more in the discovery area, as you know, the milk molecule initiative, the encapsulation work, are absolutely moving forward, progressing quickly, and I think we're going to see some exciting things in maybe end of 25 beginning at 26 but we're doing more there. We're looking at women's health, we're looking at gut health, we're looking at bioactives, we're looking at next generation fermentation. So just know, in the science area, we are not resting on our laurels. We're going to continue to dig because that is the innovation of the future. Another area we're looking at is partnerships. And I'll tell you, as I reflect on the last decade, dairy farmers have been so generous, have been so strategic in terms of making direct investments in other people's business. Thank you for doing that. The opportunity now and importantly tied to that investment was a catalytic effect, the copycat effect that we know if McDonald's did it or Domino's did it, their categories followed them, and we're still going to do that. That's our recommendation to you, but we are going to pull some of that post competitive work back to more of a pre competitive consultancy, and that will allow us to take the science, the new product concepts, the deep consumer insights, to a broader range of supply chain partners, you know. And we're going to work with the states and regions, because they have great relationships locally, and let's arm them to help arm the broader industry with all the knowledge that can help drive growth. So, you know, Can I mention one more thing? Because it you and I talked about this last year, youth is the other area that I know you and farmers across the country really care about, and we really have stepped way back from what was concentrated as a school channel program. So we've stepped back to really surround the child from the first 1000 days of their life, all the way through, you know the that that year 18, where we sort of send them out of the nest and let them go buy their own products. So I just, I want farmers across the country to know that we continue to be committed to the next generation in school, in home, online gaming. We're using all of the tools in the toolbox nationally and locally to make sure we're connecting with kids where they are. Thank you. I didn't

Marilyn Hershey   7:51  

very good No, no, no worries. The last part we you covered now. You covered next. The last part of the strategy is the future. Yep. And you made some comments at our last board meeting specifically to that. And can you share what you told the farmers about the future?

Barb O'Brien   8:09  

Yeah. And this, this, to me, is makes a really important statement about the check off and about farmer forethought. You are innovators. So when I think about what it's going to take to succeed in the future, when I think when I wake up in the day and I look at this huge dairy ecosystem, check off ecosystem and broader industry ecosystem, I think of it as a company, right? And check off is one piece of a much bigger pie. So I think all right, so what does check off need to do to ensure we are doing our part to move the industry along? And it's about having a vision. It is about investing deeply in science, because frankly, if check off doesn't do it, I'm not sure others would. And then the third thing is to establish those credible relationships along the value chain all the way from farm to the marketplace, and make sure you're working in concert with the rest of the chain. And that's what you all have done. That's what you've done with this program over the last decade or more. It's been a fundamental shift in how we work. But I think the Renaissance is indicating that it's working well,

Marilyn Hershey   9:27  

and it's interesting. I talked to a farmer yesterday in the hallway, and he said, you know that when you mentioned that, if not check off who, that really resonated with him. And I know you've used that before, but you know, a key part of this annual meeting is showing the power of the national and the local coming together as one. So can you tell us how you've seen that interaction maybe evolve and develop and grow over the last years? Absolutely.

Barb O'Brien   9:57  

And you know, it's amazing to me. This is my. Third Annual Meeting, and I said to you all at the time that you gave me the privilege to serve, that I had had worked in the system for many years, but that I had a vision for taking it to the next level, really taking advantage of the 20 organizations that currently make up the check off system to an enterprise level and to drive greater efficiency, greater effectiveness, greater impact with your dollars. And that's what we're doing. Is what I would say we've shifted from what historically or previous leadership across all industries was kind of top down. We've established a shared leadership commitment as national and local executives. We've signed on a dotted line. We agreed to mutual transparency, mutual accountability, reporting back and forth. You know, we need to work in lockstep with the leaders across the check off to make sure we're not duplicating it's not just about pooling dollars. It's about maximizing every dollar, making every dollar count. You know, it's about maximizing every dollar and marrying those investments with others of like minded objective. So one plus one equals, you know, three or five or 10 or whatever we can whatever we can do. So I think we've got, from a from a relational standpoint, we've got the right mindset among the leadership and the right commitment to see that it's one plan. It's one staff. It can be customized where it needs to be. But, you know, we're working together Absolutely,

Marilyn Hershey   11:50  

absolutely. It really is a team, right? You sure is absolutely so. If there were one thing, if there was one thing that you really want farmers to take home, one message for farmers. What would that be?

Barb O'Brien   12:03  

It's working. It's working this investment after almost 40 years. I mean, it's worked along the way, but importantly, it's working, and we're laying ground now, ground now for the next 10 years of success for dairy and all of the, all of the pieces are falling into place in terms of driving us dairies, continued growth and positioning, not just here in the United States, but increasingly around the world. I know how important that is to you. You you make that investment traveling internationally. And this is, this is our time. This is our time to for us dairy to dominate. It is,

Marilyn Hershey   12:45  

it is. And, you know, it's interesting. I with going to other countries and seeing how they do things they covet, this program, they COVID, this relationship that we have, the partnerships and and you've really taken it to the next level. So truly appreciate it. Thank

Barb O'Brien   13:02  

you, Marilyn, thank you for what you do. We

Scott Wallin   13:04  

want to thank Barb and Marilyn for that great conversation in which they shared so many highlights from this meeting. Dairy farmers. Be sure to visit your favorite podcast platform to hear more episodes of The your dairy check off podcast, and also visit dairycheck off.com to learn more strategies about how the checkoff is building sales and trust of U.S. dairy.