Idaho dairy producers were told to get out in front of the trends, and the latest trend is a return to traditional shopping … with a digital twist. A record number of Idaho dairy producers heard the message and turned out for their annual meeting in Boise Nov. 12-13. At the meeting speaker, Phil Lempert, known as the “Supermarket Guru,” told producers to think about how they communicate with consumers. He suggested doing everything from product demonstrations in grocery stores to more online storytelling.

“Celebrity chefs are dead. The new celebrity is the farmer,” Lempert said. “They want a local farmer. People don’t like supermarkets.”

He said consumers want and deserve human contact. The newest trends have supermarkets decreasing in size and returning to more neighborhood-centered stores. After decades of moving in the opposite direction, families are tired of eating out, he said. They want to be involved in the preparing of their food, and they want to know the story behind it.

While those trends represent a return to more traditional practices, they come with a new element. Lempert said consumers are relying on the Internet and smartphone apps to make buying decisions.

One app will scan a food item and present the consumer with an ingredient list. While that might seem remarkable on some levels, Lempert warns that technology isn’t perfect. The information people are getting might not even be accurate.

“Just because it’s cool doesn’t mean people understand what’s real and not real.”

He said consumers are going to continue to want more interaction with their food and its suppliers and told the audience to focus on relationships with their consumers, building something that goes “beyond loyalty to advocacy.”

Madeleine Havener, a regional manager for Walmart, echoed Lempert. She said Walmart’s focus is “on the intersection of digital and physical.”

She said the grocery giant is returning to neighborhood markets while at the same time expanding grocery pick-up and delivery offerings.

“It’s all about time with the consumer today,” Havener said.

She told Idaho producers more and more of Walmart’s stores are looking at how to provide more products in less time. She said in markets where delivery is offered, the most popular items are diapers, chips and soft drinks.

“We’re kidding ourselves if we think brick and mortar is it. We have to be shippers and experts at dot-com.”

Havener said the question is: How do we get dairy there?

Fast-food chain Taco Bell has increased dairy offerings on its menu thanks in part to a partnership with DMI. DMI has placed several of its experts in Taco Bell’s corporate headquarters to look for ways to get more dairy products to Taco Bell customers.

According to Missy Nelson, a registered dietician for Taco Bell, as much as 95 percent of the chain’s newest offerings contain dairy.

“Every time we launch a new menu, there’s dairy. There’s dairy in every window,” Nelson said. “I don’t know what life would be life without you guys.”

Lisa McClintock, Ph.D., of DMI, is the managing dairy scientist on site at Taco Bell.

“We’re telling your story through our partners,” she said. “Taco Bell customers are always asking for more cheese.”

McClintock and her team work with Taco Bell’s staff to improve the taste and healthy quality of the chain’s menu items. She helped develop the Cantina Double Steak Quesadilla, which contains natural pepper jack cheese and a fancy-shred cheddar cheese that has become a permanent menu ingredient.

“We’re always asking, ‘What can we do to make this more crave-able?’ Quite often, the answer is more cheese,” McClintock said.

Dairy economist Mary Keough Ledman said partnerships like the one with Taco Bell are helping drive cheese sales.

“We’ve had a fabulous cheese production year,” Ledman said.

She said exports are good. Cheddar is key, but mozzarella is “kicking butt.” Most of that is going as pizza cheese thanks in part, to partnerships with companies like Domino’s.

Ledman said the industry prices will remain on a roller coaster and predicts prices will remain strong into the new year but fall in the spring. While prices will eventually go back up a year from now, they won’t be as high as what dairy producers are seeing now. She predicts they’ll range from $18.50 to as low as $15.

She said the industry growth is happening in states like Texas, Colorado and Kansas – states not traditionally known for milk production.

Attendance was up at this year’s annual meeting. At one dinner, organizers feared running out of seating. Producers said there was more advertising and reminders about the meeting.

Matt Dugan and Jeff Leal of Matt-a-Moo Dairy in Gooding, Idaho, said they made the 90-minute trip to Boise to catch up on what’s happening in the state’s industry.

“I like the interaction between the dairymen and the vendors,” Leal said. “It’s important to see the new things and see what’s going on.”

In addition to the meetings, dairy producers got an update on the Fuel Up to Play 60 program in the state. A school in the Boise suburb of Meridian has used FUTP60 grants to put in a fitness room for both students and teachers.

“It’s changed how we see health and nutrition at our school,” said Heritage Middle School teacher Gary Wheeler. “It’s become part of the culture at our school.”

Wheeler said the program provides milk for kids and staff who use the fitness rooms and participate in other fitness programs. The grant money has also been used to buy smoothie makers and build a community garden for the school.

The event also served as host to Iron Chef Idaho, a cooking competition between two Boise chefs. Competitors had to use a mystery ingredient, revealed to be Greek yogurt, to prepare three different dishes. Judges were two dairy producers and the director of the state department of agriculture. In the end, the judges declared it a tie and awarded prizes to both competitors.

Producers also toured athletic facilities at Boise State University where Idaho producers provide dairy products for all athletes as part of the health and nutrition program. The school’s sports dieticians and trainers told dairy families the milk, cheese and yogurt is an important part of the athletic nutrition plans. The athletes use about 500 “chugs” a week in the facility. PD

PHOTO
Boise State University Assistant Athletic Director for Football Brad Larrondo addresses a group of Idaho dairy producers on a tour of the school’s athletic facility during United Dairymen of Idaho’s annual meeting in Boise in November. The milk can seen in the center of the photo is the symbol of a long-standing rivalry between Fresno State and BSU dairymen. The milk can travels between the two schools and is housed at the school that wins the annual football match-up. Photo courtesy of United Dairymen of Idaho.