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McDonalds Partnership Helps Boost Milk Sales
McDonald’s® new McCafe® specialty coffee drinks — which consist of up to 80 percent milk — have officially launched at the chain’s nearly 14,000 restaurants nationwide. Dairy producers, through their checkoff investment, are partnering with McDonald’s to increase milk sales through the new beverages.

“The dairy checkoff’s long-standing partnership with McDonald’s — the world’s largest quick-serve restaurant chain — helped increase single-serve milk sales among kids and adults,” said Paul Rovey, Arizona dairy producer and chair of Dairy Management Inc.™, which manages the national dairy checkoff. “We are now growing this relationship to focus on short- and long-term innovation to help develop specialty coffees, a market that relies heavily on fluid milk and has grown 84 percent over the past five years, according to NPD CREST.”

This month, McDonald’s launched a campaign aimed at boosting McCafe espressos that will thereby boost milk sales. In total, McDonald’s invested more than $1 billion in store remodeling and equipment costs, and $100 million a year in advertising and marketing support for the new beverages.

Dairy producers, through the dairy checkoff, supported the McCafe launch by:
· Providing consumer data and insights on milk and specialty coffee
· Assisting McDonald’s on the introduction of specialty coffees and nationwide sampling efforts to build local awareness of McCafe espresso beverages

“This is just the beginning,” Rovey said. “The dairy checkoff is entering into a longer-term agreement with McDonald’s that could lead to new milk and dairy menu options, including yogurt smoothies, espresso drinks, new cheeseburgers, and new single-serve, flavored milk options.”

For more information about the McDonald’s partnership and other dairy checkoff foodservice partners, please visit www.dairycheckoff.com.

A periodic report for dairy media demonstrating how Dairy Management Inc.™ (DMI) and affiliated state and regional promotion organizations work to increase demand for and sales of U.S.-produced dairy products and ingredients through the programs of the American Dairy Association®, National Dairy Council® and U.S. Dairy Export Council®. For more information about these and other dairy checkoff programs, please contact Jennifer Wing at (847) 627-3225 or jenniferw@rosedmi.com.