More than 90% of consumers rely on online recipes and meal inspiration. Additionally, 86% of consumers have been inspired by online recipes to explore new meals, and 80% have purchased new ingredients. Recognizing these trends, Midwest Dairy partners with retailers to create new dairy-inspired recipes that encourage shoppers to purchase dairy products. Continue reading to learn how our partners promote recipes and dairy ingredients to their shoppers.
Hy-Vee
Midwest Dairy partnered with Hy-Vee to enhance holiday meal planning with a seamless and flavorful experience. Through a strategic email banner and branded landing page, Hy-Vee offered festive, dairy-centric recipes to suit diverse consumer tastes, from indulgent cheeseboards to healthier options.
These recipes include Gluten-Free Goodness, featuring delicious butter-infused dishes; Better-for-You Choices, offering nutritious and flavorful dairy-centric options; and Grazing Cheese Board Ideas, which assist consumers in creating perfect holiday dairy appetizers. During the holidays, the campaign emphasized the importance of cheese and butter, sharing easy recipes for gluten-free, nutritious, and festive appetizers. Integrated into Hy-Vee’s online platforms, the campaign effectively engaged consumers.
The results were impressive: 1.9 million consumers received the email, 40% engaged with the content, and 2.4 million incremental pounds of cheese and butter were sold. This collaboration showcased the power of dairy in uniting families around delicious holiday meals, reinforcing its role in festive traditions while driving significant sales and engagement.
Dierbergs Markets
Midwest Dairy and Dierbergs Markets collaborated on two year-end campaigns in October and November. The October campaign focused on Dierbergs’ support of dairy farmers by celebrating National Farmers Day. The November campaign highlighted baking with dairy ahead of Thanksgiving.
Dierbergs proudly supported dairy farm families in October through a dedicated campaign. This initiative featured Illinois dairy farmer Courtney Lintker, who shared her passion for agriculture. The campaign focused on promoting a recipe for Spinach Artichoke Dip. Various other tactics were employed for the National Farmers Day campaign, including bonus points on featured products such as cream cheese, butter, and shredded cheese. Additionally, Midwest Dairy created an Instagram reel on the Dierbergs page, collaborated with influencers for content, including promotions in our weekly ad, and shared digital posts. The campaign also featured a banner on the Dierbergs homepage and included an email blast to our customers.
The November campaign highlighted the tradition of baking during the holiday season. Dierbergs concentrated on engaging shoppers through a “Baking with Dairy” promotion, which included a featured Dutch Apple Cheesecake recipe. This campaign featured a digital ad panel showcasing bonus points for key ingredients, such as cream cheese and butter. Additionally, the campaign tested TikTok ads, which outperformed Instagram in terms of impressions, reach, and engagement.
Fareway
Fareway also partnered with Midwest Dairy for the 2024 holiday season to ensure that dairy was at the center of every festive meal. With consumer trends showing a growing demand for value-added milk—such as lactose-free, high-protein, and organic options—this campaign made it easy for shoppers to find and enjoy their favorite dairy staples.
The campaign engaged consumers through digital and in-store activations. Fareway showcased four delicious dairy-filled recipes on social media, encouraging interaction and engagement. Two clickable email banners guided subscribers to exclusive recipes and online shopping. In-store monitors featured recipes and product videos, seen approximately 4 million times. Clickable banners on Fareway’s homepage offered direct access to dairy shopping pages with vendor-sponsored promotions.
In December, dairy sales at Fareway soared, proving the effectiveness of this campaign. Nearly every highlighted dairy category experienced increased sales, with value-added products such as milk, butter, cheese, and sour cream emerging as the holiday MVPs. The campaign reached nearly 5 million consumers, resulting in 650,000 incremental pounds of milk sold.
Schnucks Markets
In November, Midwest Dairy and Schnucks Markets partnered to boost dairy sales through recipes. After analyzing industry data, we determined that the recipes should feature milk, cheese, and/or butter. Three recipes were included in the initiative: Cheese Pastry Straws, Creamy Yogurt Fruit Dip, and Toasted Cheese Tortellini Bites.
As part of the campaign, Schnucks sent an email blast to its subscribers, linking each of the three recipes and promoting a special five times the points on Schnucks cream cheese offer. To enhance the campaign’s reach, Schnucks also partnered with influencers. Four influencers picked their favorite recipe and promoted it through a video on their social media pages. Check out posts from melboban, cierra.crowley, rachel.tritsch, and Lizrotz to see how these influencers promoted eccentric dairy recipes.
This campaign reached nearly 600,000 shoppers and engaged over 9,000 people with email or Instagram posts. It also led to positive incremental growth for cream cheese.
Cub Foods
In September, Midwest Dairy partnered with Cub Foods to highlight the numerous ways dairy can enhance every meal of the day. The partnership came to life in Cub Foods Fall Magazine, which featured creative and trendy recipes that took dairy to the next level.
The Milk and Cereal Remix was a standout creation, transforming a classic breakfast staple into a versatile, delightful treat. The campaign showcased four innovative milk-based recipes featuring Kemp’s as Cub Foods’ selected dairy advertising sponsor. The recipes included Cereal Milk Panna Cotta, Fried Ice Cream Bars, Milk & Cereal Bars, and Strawberry Milkshake with Frosted Flakes Whipped Cream.
In addition to the magazine’s four-page spread, these recipes were promoted through a robust digital campaign. This included social media posts on Facebook and Instagram, as well as Cub Foods’ digital weekly ad circular features, eye-catching solo email banners, and sneak-peek campaigns.
As part of the fall festivities, Midwest Dairy collaborated with Cub Foods on an additional two-page spotlight for a Creamy Double Cheddar Mac & Cheese recipe. This activation echoed the success of the dairy-focused campaign with further digital and social media promotions.
The campaign successfully engaged a broad audience, reaching over one million viewers and generating an impressive total of 1.6 million views. While milk, cheese, and butter sales have been trending downward compared to last year, the decline is slowing. Incremental milk sales show promising improvement, narrowing the gap toward growth at this retailer.