Late last week, Dallas-based Dean Foods unlocked a $2.5bn (€2.23bn) brand overnight with the launch of DairyPure, America's first national fresh milk label.
From this week, the DairyPure logo will begin to feature on bottles of milk sold under all 31 of Dean Foods' regional brands, including Dean's (Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio), Oak Farm (Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas), Alta Dena (California, Arizona), Mayfield (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee) and Meadow Gold (Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii).
DairyPure will be extended to creamers and buttermilk in June, and school milk during the summer.
"This is really exciting for Dean Foods and really exciting for the US dairy industry," Greg Schwartz, vice president of marketing, Dean Foods, told DairyReporter.com.
"Not only is this a first for Dean Foods, it's the launch of the first national fresh milk brand in the history of the US dairy industry.”
Dean Foods, America's largest fresh milk processor, is confident DairyPure will help it reclaim market share lost in recent years.
"What we saw during the pilot [in New England] was an improvement in market share and that's what we're really focusing on - growing our share," said Schwartz.
"Share growth is going to take place over time," he said. "We're making a significant investment in our marketing mix. We expect it to occur over time."
Five-Point Purity Promise
Dean Foods' launch of DairyPure brand will be supported by a nationwide marketing campaign, which will center around its Five-Point Purity Promise:
1. No artificial growth hormones
2. All milk is tested for antibiotics
3. Continually quality tested to ensure purity - "Tested at least 18 times before it reaches the consumer."
4. Only from cows fed a healthy diet
5. Cold shipped fresh from your local dairy - "Less than 100 miles from farm to store."
"Consumers told us they wanted assurance they're buying the purest milk possible," said Schwartz.
With one Universal Product Code (UPC), Dean Foods' customers also stand to benefit, he said.
"Buying different brands from Dean Foods an others, they're dealing with many UPCs," said Schwartz. "This is going to significantly improve the administrative burden our customers experience."
Nationwide fresh milk advertising for Dean Foods and its customers is now also a possibility.
"From a company perspective, there are a lot of benefits for Dean Foods," said Schwartz.
"We're now the only US dairy that can realise media efficiency [with fresh milk]. It opens us up as a formidable advertising partner."