As the checkoff staff begins to wrap up the busy year of 2024, I take a moment to reflect on my time with Midwest Dairy. I feel immense pride in the partnerships we have developed to foster trust and increase sales in dairy. Additionally, I am proud of the research conducted to continually advance the dairy sector in a positive direction. Your checkoff dollars were hard at work this year, making a measurable difference in the marketplace.
When I think about impactful partners, names like Freddy’s, Walmart and Dollar General come to mind. However, I am particularly excited about our partnership with Instacart. Shopping online for groceries continues to increase in popularity with consumers. Over 70% of Americans purchase groceries online, and by 2026, it is projected that one in three dollars will be spent on the online grocery channel. Knowing this, checkoff has worked to engage with online shoppers through Instacart. Instacart is an online grocery shopping service where we aim to keep dairy products top of mind for consumers and encourage them to add more dairy to their virtual cart through compelling dairy messaging. This messaging includes special deals on dairy products, targeted advertisements, recipe sharing and more.
In 2024, Midwest Dairy attracted shoppers through the Instacart platform during the back-to-school months with the message, “Power Your Kids’ Day with Dairy!” along with the Undeniably Dairy logo reinforcing the nutritional benefit of dairy. This campaign generated 3.2 million impressions and complimented in-store activations at some of our largest retailers in the Midwest Dairy region, which, in total, drove over 10 million incremental pounds of milk. We also leveraged Instacart during the holiday season, first with a fall-themed campaign and again during December, promoting products such as cheese, butter, cream, sour cream and yogurt for the busy baking season. This campaign inspires increased dairy usage during the holidays in conjunction with other retail partner activations.
As dairy sales grow, I’m proud of our research efforts at Midwest Dairy. We fund initiatives that tackle industry challenges and collaborate with partners to boost dairy demand. Our incubator programs, including the Hatchery in Chicago, Illinois, and No More Empty Pots in Omaha, Nebraska, have successfully discovered and supported food and beverage entrepreneurs who prioritize dairy. In 2024, we celebrated the launch of the No More Empty Pots pitch competition, which awarded two winners a $10,000 prize, kitchen rental for six months and other business development opportunities, all fostering local entrepreneurship and innovation in the dairy sector.
Our ultimate goal is to help food vendors establish sustainable businesses that can grow into their own spaces while continuing to sell and promote dairy products. The success of the pitch competition highlights the entrepreneurial spirit of our participants and the potential for innovation in the dairy industry, motivating us to keep supporting these ventures. Building on the growth and success of the previous pitch contests, I am excited to announce we are further expanding this initiative by partnering with VentureFuel. Their customized approach focuses on identifying and accelerating innovative products with startups to unlock new growth opportunities for Midwest Dairy. Since VentureFuel collaborates with some of the best public, private and non-profit organizations across various industries and functional areas, I’m optimistic that these pitch contests will expand to more states across the Midwest. This partnership is exciting and will continue to help checkoff boost dairy demand in creative ways.
As you can see, the ball is moving fast, and the checkoff continues to move with it. Industry research drives our decisions as we partner with those who can help us promote an excellent dairy experience. I am excited for you to learn more about our 2024 partners in the annual report, which will be available to you in the new year as we conclude another year of checkoff achievements. I appreciate your support this year and wish you a happy and healthy holiday season.
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