Menu Makers: Beverage Boom Turning Consumer Demand Into Dairy Sales
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Product Spotlight
Your checkoff team partnered with Nurri to provide insights to help develop and market their dairy-based, high-protein milkshakes. They have now expanded into high-protein coffee creamers and milk.
Meals away from home accounted for nearly 60% of American’s food expenses in 20241. Partnering with leading restaurants like Taco Bell helps drive dairy demand for meals on the go. With embedded food scientists in the Taco Bell test kitchen and support from the National Dairy Foods Research Centers, the dairy checkoff team created a formulation to get real dairy creamer into the chain’s coffee and frozen drinks products.
Another longtime restaurant partner, McDonald’s, is continuing to innovate through its McCafé line of coffee and smoothie drinks, with 90% of those offerings including real dairy.
Other major coffee chains are leveraging our long-term investments in both whey and milk protein powders to launch high-protein coffee, cold foam and refresher drinks.
Protein in the Spotlight
Consumer interest in high-protein diets has reached a fever pitch. Recent industry data shows that 61% of Americans2 are actively increasing their protein intake.
This trend is further accelerated by the rise of GLP-1 medications. For GLP-1 users, muscle preservation is a critical concern. These consumers are seeking nutrient-dense, high-protein food and beverage options that stabilize metabolism and prevent muscle loss during weight loss3.
Dairy foods like milk, cheese and yogurt deliver all nine essential amino acids for muscle synthesis, including casein for sustained recovery and whey for rapid repair and growth. Its high-quality protein aids satiety and helps stabilize blood sugar, supporting balanced energy throughout the day. Calcium, phosphorus, zinc, potassium and vitamin D further enhance bone integrity, while fermented dairy foods can support gut health.
Together these functional benefits can help support goals around strength, resilience and longevity.
Look around the dairy aisle next time you’re at the grocery store and you will likely notice several GLP-1-friendly dairy snacks, protein-plus blends (protein + collagen + electrolytes + creatine) and recovery-focused dairy drinks to help consumers stay active and energized. Additionally, dairy-based hydration beverages could appeal to fitness enthusiasts looking for simple, nutrient-dense alternatives to traditional sports drinks.
Product Spotlight
Through our partnership with Danone, the dairy checkoff team helped support the development of OIKOS Fusion Muscle, a high-protein beverage paired with fiber.
Fluid Milk Innovation
Since 2015, checkoff has taken a focus on revitalizing and improving milk’s relevance in today’s marketplace. We’ve brought together processors, cooperatives, marketers, farmers and nutrition researchers to reimagine what fluid milk can be – from packaging and promotion to value-added options like higher protein, lower sugar and lactose-free options.
This work helped pave the way for successes, beginning with fairlife, which has grown into a billion-dollar brand. Researchers within the checkoff network had been exploring ultrafiltration as a way to offer milk with more protein and less sugar, without lactose. fairlife brought that science to the shelf.
DMI also supported Darigold’s launch of FIT Milk in 2019. FIT features 14 grams of protein per serving, 40 percent less sugar than traditional milk, and an extended shelf life thanks to ultra-pasteurization.
Similarly, we collaborated with Dairy Farmers of America on Milk50, an innovative product offering just 50 calories and 75 percent less sugar per serving than fat-free skim milk, while still delivering 9 grams of protein. Our decade-long partnership with DFA reflects the checkoff’s sustained commitment to driving fluid milk innovation.
Delivering Real Impact
The combined impact of these partnerships is significant. By helping restaurants create and launch dairy-forward menu items, checkoff-supported innovation drives meaningful increases in dairy usage.
An independent economic analysis shows that foodservice partnerships and related initiatives have helped generate 18.48 billion pounds of incremental dairy volume from 2009 through 20245. That represents billions of additional servings of dairy reaching consumers through restaurants, snacks, beverages and menu favorites.
Behind each of those servings is a strategic effort to ensure dairy remains relevant, competitive and appealing in today’s marketplace.
For the farmers and importers who fund the checkoff, these partnerships represent a focused effort to turn consumer demand into real dairy sales, ensuring that when restaurants look to innovate or consumers seek high-protein foods, dairy is at the center of the menu.
