Chicken and Cheese – One Example of Untapped Checkoff Possibilities

More than 2 billion chicken sandwiches head out the doors of leading quick-serve restaurants (QSR) in the U.S. each year without a slice of cheese.

This is roughly 80 percent of a booming category that is engaged in its infamous “chicken wars,” and dairy is largely on the sidelines. By comparison, about 85 percent of hamburgers sold every year through QSRs contain cheese.

So, here’s some math on the possibilities. If the 20 percent of chicken sandwiches that do have cheese grew to 30 percent – and that growth meant a 5-ounce slice of cheese on every item – we’re talking about an additional 700 million pounds of milk moved every year!

As Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) continues to evolve how we partner domestically and internationally, we’re doing so with an eye toward untapped growth platforms, such as chicken and cheese, or increasing milk and yogurt smoothie access in schools and foodservice channels.

Core to our work will be:

• Demonstrating the dairy industry’s leadership as an essential, sustainable food source. This will build on the momentum of the 2050 Environmental Stewardship Goals, Net Zero Initiative, and dairy’s position in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
• Identifying opportunities for increasing domestic sales by working with channel-leading partners to deliver new products, product experiences and consumer marketing programs.
• Increasing international sales, specifically in Asia-Pacific and Latin America. As a complement to the checkoff-founded S. Dairy Export Council’s efforts, we’ll provide dairy-centric expertise and co-invest in projects through partnerships aimed at expanding innovation and building export capabilities in priority markets.

Emerging possibilities

Work with our legacy partners – McDonald’s, Domino’s and Taco Bell – will continue to drive volumes of U.S.-sourced dairy, but we’ll seek to identify opportunities with new channel and industry influencers, such as Chick-fil-A. There also are emerging players to consider, such as Shake Shack and Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, who could unlock more growth opportunities and offer new avenues to share dairy’s positive story of environmental stewardship, community impact and nutrition excellence.

Our role will be to inform, inspire and prove dairy can fill existing gaps within their businesses. I’ll share a great example of what I mean through work we did with Taco Bell to incorporate dairy into its beverage lineup. It first required overcoming an obstacle – Taco Bell restaurants do not have refrigeration capacity near their drink stations to store dairy products. So, DMI’s science and product research teams joined the checkoff-funded Midwest Dairy Center at the University of Minnesota to collaborate on a solution. The result was the creation of a shelf-stable creamer that consists of real cream and met Taco Bell’s product requirements.

Because of this innovation, Taco Bell last year launched the Pineapple Whip Freeze and followed with the Mtn Dew® Baja Blast® Colada Freeze in May. Taco Bell spent millions of non-checkoff funds to promote these beverages in various media platforms. But consider this additional win for dairy: Taco Bell suppliers now can present this creamer to other foodservice entities as an alternative to non-dairy products. This is the sort of success that is more than a one-off project – it represents potential broad platform change and industry growth.

This is how the checkoff can ignite innovation and sales and we’re showcasing our capabilities, expertise and a vision for dairy in the portfolios of potential associates. Our aim is to demonstrate how dairy is more than an ingredient or a garnish. It can be the hero of a company’s menu portfolio as it is with various Taco Bell and McDonald’s offerings. Cheese is the reason for the turnaround in the pizza category, as evidenced by Domino’s climbing its way to the top of the pizza category.Consider the potential for a chain such as Raising Cane’s, which has no dairy in its portfolio, or for Chick-fil-A, which has a minimal dairy presence. These are companies that are part of the fastest growing foodservice segment. Despite complications from COVID-19, quick-service restaurant chicken sales grew 9.0 percent in 2020. It’s a $35 billion segment, behind pizza ($42 billion).

Avenue to Gen Z

But here is another key reason to engage with them: these companies have appeal to the coveted Gen Z consumer (ages 10-23). Gen Z is estimated to soon become the largest U.S. consumer population with an annual spending power of approximately $143 billion. And they greatly influence purchase decisions being made at home.

A recent survey identified Raising Cane’s and Chick-fil-A as Gen Z’s favorite brands. This is the age group that represents the checkoff’s top target for consumer growth.

Gen Z is surrounded by information sources they don’t trust and are looking to new outlets and influencers. We want to demonstrate to Gen Z that dairy can deliver what they seek: unparalleled dimensions of wellness for mind, body and environmental impact. Dairy has appealing qualities with foods that offer calming effects, energy as well as digestive health and immunity benefits.

So much of our plan represents new ways of thinking and some new elements. But it also remains rooted in a proven strategy of working with and through category and foodservice leaders to bring us to our ultimate destination: increase sales and trust of dairy.

To learn more about your national dairy checkoff, visit www.USDairy.com or send a request to join our Facebook group. To reach us directly, send an email to TalkToTheCheckoff@dairy.org.