Launching the First National Fresh Milk Brand in the U.S.
The Business Challenge: Driven by many years of successful M&A, the Dean Foods national flavored milk business was made up of over 30 regional brands that didn't leverage the scale of the largest dairy in the U.S.
The Insight: Mom was concerned about childhood obesity and high fructose corn syrup. She also struggled with how to think about the chocolate milk category: Is it healthy or is it liquid dessert?
The Solution: Restage regional dairy brands to TruMoo, leveraging the scale of a national brand but preserving the local endorser dairy brand. Solve a problem for Mom by giving her compelling health reasons - to - believe via a national consumer-preferred formula with lower fat, lower calories, lower sugar, no high fructose corn syrup, and no growth hormones.
The Result: Grew Dean's conventional flavored milk share from 15% to 21%. TruMoo is now the #1 flavored milk brand in the U.S.
Organic Valley / Dean Foods Joint Venture
The business challenge: Organic Valley is the largest organic coop in the U.S. but lacked fresh dairy manufacturing & distribution capability. Dean Foods was the larges fresh milk processor and distributor in the U.S. but lacked a category leading organic milk brand in its brand portfolio.
The Insight: Organic Valley’s decentralized network of small dairy farms matched Dean Food’s national network of processing and distribution facilities.
The Result: By marrying Organic Valley’s dairy farming expertise with Dean Foods’ dairy processing and distribution expertise, Organic Valley Fresh was born, resulting in a 100-million-dollar fresh organic milk business in less than one year since inception.