Midwest Dairy partnered with both Dierbergs and Hy-Vee to engage consumers through dairy-focused activations in October and December 2025. The campaigns combined in-store promotions, social media, and email marketing to drive both engagement and sales growth. Together, the initiatives generated tens of thousands of incremental pounds of milk sold, showcasing how strategic retail partnerships can translate into real impact for Midwest dairy farmers.
Dierbergs
National Farmers Day
Midwest Dairy partnered with Dierbergs to celebrate National Farmers Day, celebrated on October 12. Research shows that shoppers are interested in increasing protein consumption and are also very interested in understanding where their food comes from. Midwest Dairy shared those insights with Dierbergs, who worked with their marketing and recipe development team to create a Cheesy Skillet Lasagna recipe featuring cottage cheese. This allowed Dierbergs to showcase innovation through recipes and drive sales. To support the recipe, Dierbergs ran promotional pricing and bonus points offers on cottage cheese and cheese. Included in the campaign were a digital ad panel in Dierbergs’ weekly ad and social posts promoting the recipe and bonus points offers.
The recipe drove over 2,500 views on social media and was the third most clicked item in the email. Using consumer insights to develop new recipes encouraged Dierbergs’ customers to try new things. The campaign resulted in 77,557 incremental pounds of milk sold.
Holiday Baking
Planning for the holiday activation centered on understanding Dierbergs’ customers and identifying growth opportunities. Butter emerged as a key area of innovation, with Dierbergs experiencing strong sales growth in the category. Based on these insights, the December campaign strategically focused on holiday baking to drive dairy demand.
Dierbergs developed a Cranberry Almond Bundt Cake recipe, which included milk and butter. Reward signage in-store, social media posts, email, and digital weekly circular inclusion with dairy messaging were all tactics used to promote the campaign.
The recipe drove over 2,600 impressions on social media and 977 ad page views. Dierbergs recorded 114% year-over-year growth in butter sales and a 3% lift in milk gallons. The campaign resulted in almost 75,000 incremental pounds of milk sold.
Hy-Vee
Making Memories with Dairy
This past holiday season, dairy took center stage at Hy-Vee as families gathered to bake, cook, and celebrate together. Through a festive “Making Memories with Dairy” campaign, Hy-Vee showcased its private label butter, creams, cottage cheese, and sour cream in comforting holiday recipes that brought both flavor and value to shoppers’ tables.
Featured Recipes:
- Make-ahead Mini Cottage Cheese Pancakes
- Chai Latte Cinnamon Rolls
- Orange-Glazed Cranberry Streusel Bread
- Crustless Slab Quiche
- Potatoes Supreme
- Smoked Salmon Cottage Cheese Bites
- Holiday Caramel Bread Pudding
- Classic Caramels
- Mixed Berry Holiday Trifle
From November 23 through December 30, the campaign generated 767,952 measurable impressions across on-site and email placements and, when combined with added online banner support, reached a total of 816,972 impressions during the holiday season. Even more importantly, these efforts drove an incredible 4,586,644 incremental pounds of milk sales, directly supporting dairy demand during one of the most important consumption seasons of the year.
Hy-Vee’s seasonal email alone delivered an impressive 11.77% conversion rate – dramatically outperforming the industry benchmark of 0.73%–1.32%. It achieved a 54.5% open rate and generated a $35.61 return on ad spending. In other words, shoppers weren’t just seeing the message – they were opening, engaging, and buying.
On-site banner placements were equally impactful, driving a 2.36% conversion rate compared to the benchmark range of 0.097%–2.13%. Together, these results proved that dairy-inspired recipe content successfully translated into real purchases – both online and in-store.
The campaign aligned with consumer insights, reflecting Mintel’s top two food and beverage drivers: taste and price. Holiday recipes highlighted the rich flavor and versatility of real dairy while promoting trusted Hy-Vee private label products that deliver strong value for today’s budget-conscious families. During a season when shoppers balance tradition with affordability, dairy delivered on both.
Because of local dairy farmers’ dedication to producing high-quality milk, families across the Midwest were able to create memorable holiday meals filled with flavor, comfort, and connection.
These campaigns are a powerful example of how strategic retail partnerships, strong insights, and compelling recipe inspiration can translate directly into increased dairy sales and measurable impact back to the farm.