Midwest Dairy tailgate promotions are a touchdown

Midwest Dairy focuses on key moments to promote dairy to consumers, layering multiple approaches to drive sales and build trust in the marketplace. One highlight in 2025 has been the “Back to Sports” season, which focuses on bringing dairy to tailgates across our 10-state region. By working with retail partners to deliver messages on multiple channels, we ensure that dairy’s story is seen and heard wherever people shop.

We know that consumers have a strong interest in the dairy category, with almost 97% of households purchasing cheese, making it a natural fit for game-day favorites. Must-have dairy products for a tailgate include classics like chips and queso dip, cheese for burgers, wings with buttermilk ranch dip, and, of course, meat, cheese, and cracker trays. 

To encourage shoppers to add these products to their game-day grocery lists, Midwest Dairy is partnering with retailers to deliver inspiration through multiple touchpoints. In-store signage and videos, shoppable digital ads, themed promotions, social media campaigns and recipe content are all designed to help families and fans create the ultimate tailgate spread.

Throughout the fall, Midwest Dairy is teaming up with top grocery partners across our 10-state region, including Hy-Vee, Cub Foods, Fareway and Price Chopper, to make dairy the star of tailgating displays and weekly specials. Online activations extend that reach even further through platforms like Chicory and Instacart, where digital banners, recipe integrations and “Add to Cart” ads help shoppers bring dairy home with just one click.

These checkoff efforts emphasize flexibility and reach, ensuring that dairy remains present both digitally and in stores and is seasonally relevant. Each partnership features strong, consistent creative content, designed to connect with consumers’ passion for football, food and community. Dairy-forward messages like “Get in the Game with Dairy,” “Team Up with Dairy,” “Create the Ultimate Game Day Spread” and “Long Live Fall” remind shoppers that dairy belongs at every gathering, from the tailgate lot to the living-room couch. These themes not only drive purchase intent but also position dairy as fresh, local and nutritious, qualities that resonate with today’s consumers seeking both flavor and function.

Beyond the eye-catching creative, Midwest Dairy’s retail team helps stores stay ahead of consumer trends by sharing category insights and seasonal data on shopper behavior. This collaboration helps retailers plan displays and digital content that maximize sales while keeping dairy front and center in meal planning conversations. It’s a win-win. Consumers find relevant meal ideas, retailers see increased traffic and basket size, and farmers benefit from stronger category growth.

Midwest Dairy is dedicated to listening to consumers and bringing dairy to life at the retail level to increase the usage of dairy for the benefit of dairy farmers. Our objective is to grow the dairy category and support retail initiatives to increase consumer demand. Midwest Dairy capitalizes on key moments of the year, such as tailgating, to showcase dairy products in unique and exciting ways to connect with consumers and drive incremental sales.   

As fans fire up their grills and gather for game days, Midwest Dairy is ensuring dairy is in every cooler, cart and conversation. These efforts demonstrate the power of checkoff dollars at work. Driving consideration, awareness, and ultimately conversion to sales during these key time periods is a touchdown for dairy. As a result of these promotions, we aim to see dairy in every in-store and digital cart and in the hands of loyal fans at every tailgate. Highlighting dairy as a fresh, local and nutritious choice fuels fans and builds long-term demand that supports farm families across the Midwest.

As you shop this fall, look for “Team Up with Dairy” signage at your local grocery store, explore tailgate recipes online and share the excitement with family and friends. Every block of cheese, carton of milk and tub of sour cream helps support the hardworking dairy farmers across the Midwest.

To learn more about how Midwest Dairy drives trust and sales through programs like these, visit MidwestDairy.com — and make dairy the MVP of your next tailgate.