Traditionally, October, November, and December are the months shoppers spend the most on specialty cheese, butter, and other dairy products. Because 90% of Wisconsin’s milk is made into cheese, and 90% of the cheese is sold outside the state, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin (DFW) encourages strong nationwide marketing efforts to sell Wisconsin dairy products at grocery stores across the country and around the globe. With Wisconsin crafting 50% of the nation’s specialty cheese supply, retailers appreciate our partnership efforts that help sell more cheese in-store and online during the holiday season.

As a regional marketing director, I work closely with grocery retailers and dairy processors to create shopper programs that place Wisconsin cheese, butter, and other dairy products at the forefront of shoppers’ minds, driving more dairy sales, awareness, and distribution.

The nation’s major grocery stores guide consumers’ cheese purchases with a variety of in-store promotions such as price ads, point-of-sale materials, sampling, or tasting events to draw people in. The COVID-19 pandemic caused online dairy sales to accelerate, moving retailers to evolve from their traditional in-store shopping to a blend of in-store and e-commerce shopping. With the rise of e-commerce shopping, the team at DFW quickly developed e-commerce programs with retailers across the country to keep specialty cheese top-of-mind through all shopping opportunities, either in-store or online.

Retail grocery marketing is constantly evolving. Where traditionally shoppers would see an in-store ad or in-store point-of-sale materials, they are now seeing those elements combined with emails, digital ads, and recipes on grocery store websites as well as product deals and information on the grocer’s social media sites.

DFW partners with retailers and processors to strategically integrate the different methods of shopping available to consumers. For specialty cheese, this approach could mean combining eye-catching in-store displays, social media ads, and recipe videos.

Our entire team of regional marketing managers is currently working with retailers to launch “The More The Merrier” holiday cheese campaign that will deliver all these tactics and more in over 4,500 stores across 45 states (and online) throughout the coming holiday season. These partnerships help drive incremental cheese and dairy sales meaning increased demand for your milk.

This holiday season, we will see people getting together to cherish what matters most, including great dairy like Wisconsin Cheese and all the stories, memories, and moments it helps to create.

To learn more about your dairy checkoff, visit WisconsinDairy.org and sign up for the monthly newsletter.

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