More milk ‘n’ cookies

Milk and cookies are a classic combination. This past holiday season, Midwest Dairy capitalized on the quintessential pairing through a signage collaboration promoting the sale of milk with the Dollar General Corporation.

Martha Kemper is the vice president of dairy experience-demand with Midwest Dairy.

“It really is a win-win,” Kemper said. “The retailer wins because that generates extra dollars. Our farmers win because they’re selling more pounds of milk off their farms. And, at the end of the day, that’s what we’re really charged to do.”

The collaboration featured dual signage in the dairy and the cookie aisles at Dollar General from Nov. 13, 2023, to Jan. 14. The signage encouraged consumers to remember to buy milk, emphasizing the affordable nutrition dairy offers and reminding them of how well milk pairs with cookies.

“We are looking for opportunity to drive that messaging and trust, which eventually will drive sales,” Kemper said. “Fluid milk has a very large household penetration. ... We just need to remind people.”

Signage messages included, “Don’t forget the milk! (Your cookies will thank you): Cookies love real milk,” “Cheers to your health: Pick up real milk today,” “Milk and cookies: A true slam dunk. Don’t forget the milk,” and “Milk: Good value for what you value: Pick up real milk today.”

The signs also included the Undeniably Dairy logo with the tagline, “Real Dairy. Real Nutrition.”

The signage was featured in 9,500 Dollar General stores, including 2,400 in the Midwest. Dollar General has 19,000 stores nationwide. Seventy percent of Americans live within 5 miles of a Dollar General. Dollar General is the No. 2 grocery destination in the U.S. behind Walmart.

Collaboration between Midwest Dairy and Dollar General is something the dairy farmer-led board suggested.

“We listen to our farmers,” Kemper said. “We’re trying to spend their money like it was our own. ... We put our money here, and it was a big win.”

Cole Hoyer, a dairy farmer milking 120 cows near Estelline, South Dakota, is a member of the Midwest Dairy board. He said part of the importance of the project is dairy farmers could see their checkoff dollars working.

“We’re seeing Dollar Generals pop up nationwide in a lot of the rural towns, which is where our dairy farmers live, and our communities are there,” Hoyer said. “We wanted to make sure that our dairy products were well represented in our local communities as well as the larger cities nationwide.”

Hoyer said he has learned more about Midwest Dairy’s checkoff work since becoming a board member, which has made him realize the importance of sharing what is being done.

“Our checkoff is going toward promoting dairy and putting dairy in our grocery carts to get it back into our homes, especially during the holidays,” Hoyer said. “All the dairy producers’ hard work and dedication to making a good quality product is then being shown through our checkoff system and promoted locally as well as nationally.”

Kemper said Dollar General was a good fit because inflation has caused consumers to look toward dollar-type stores.

“Inflation has changed the way that consumers are shopping,” Kemper said. “They’re actively seeking ways to stretch their grocery budgets.”

Kemper said they learned from the Path to Purchase Institute that 86% of grocery shopping trips happen in-store. She said 46% of in-store purchases are inspired by displays.

“We’re trying to meet consumers where they are,” Kemper said. “We know they’re going toward the dollar channel, but we just want to be able to have that conversation with them at the shelf when they make their decision.”

The timing of the campaign offered several opportunities. Held over the holiday season, the campaign meant high traffic and inflationary pressure plus added budget pressure that encouraged purchases from a store like Dollar General.

“We wanted to identify that this is a good, healthy way to spend your money,” Kemper said. “If you only have $5, how are you going to spend it? Let’s put it on affordable nutrition.”

Kemper said they considered various dual pairings of milk with other products but decided cookies was the best option.

“With milk in the cart, the average dollar ring goes up because of all of the complementary purchases that milk supports,” Kemper said. “That was one of the reasons why we put signage in the cookie aisle. Who can have cookies without milk?”

The collaboration featured multiple states and regions beyond Midwest Dairy’s region to expand the reach of the project. Hoyer said this type of collaboration helps checkoff be more efficient with its dollars.

“We try to utilize our resources the best we can in order to make our investment worthwhile,” Hoyer said.

More collaborations with Dollar General could happen in the future depending on the data Midwest Dairy receives from the project. They expect numbers from Dollar General in late March or early April.