The Milk is the Message

The DFC campaign is being rolled out at a time when dairy production isn’t as smooth as it has been. Current milk supply trends, as tracked by the DFO, show Ontario may fill only 98 per cent of its quota this year due, according to the organization, mainly to poor feed quality in the 2008 crop. In addition, butter and cheese stocks are trending down. Milk production levels in the Maritime provinces and in Quebec are similarly down.

For producers like Wortzman, the program is a welcome marketing tool. “The new initiative is an idea whose time has come. People are asking us if our products are made with Canadian milk, and food retailers and foodservice are telling us they want Canadian products,” he says. “It’s important that we as an industry respond to this growing ‘buy Canadian’ movement. I like the new program.” One of the largest independently owned cheese makers in Manitoba, Bothwell produces about two million kilograms of cheese each year, selling to grocery and specialty food retailers across the country. Wortzman, an internationally trained chef who brings his global experience to the table, has helped create the award-winning company’s 30-plus specialty cheese brands, many using exotic ingredients he sources worldwide.

John MacKay, vice-president of Marketing for Scotsburn Dairy Group, one of the largest Atlantic Canadian owned dairy processors and distributors in the region, also believes the new branding is a timely campaign. “Especially so in light of recent government initiatives (such as the new rules for a product to be labelled product of Canada), as well as a new consumer focus on food safety,” he says. “The new logo goes a long way to helping our consumers differentiate our dairy products from competitors’ non-dairy products.”

The Scotsburn, N.S.-based company, which generated sales of about $250 million in 2008 and which is one of Atlantic Canada’s leading manufacturers of ice cream and frozen novelties, produces 140 Scotsburn branded products at its three largest production facilities in St. John’s, Nfld., Sydney, N.S. and Truro, N.S. “While Scotsburn’s co-op example made us well known in Atlantic Canada, we’re also renowned across the rest of the country through our sale of private label products,” says MacKay. “Our private label business has grown by leaps and bounds and there are few national chains we aren’t producing for.”

In terms of traceability, food safety, locality, choice and sustainability, MacKay views the new Canadian milk brand as a symbol of trust – a confirmation of the Canadian origin of his dairy products. “Consumers understand Canadian milk is made by fellow Canadians who live on nearby farms, they contribute to the Canadian economy, and they are produced in keeping with deeply held Canadian values such as respect for the environment, food quality and animal care. The new 100-per-cent Canadian milk branding clearly indicates the dairy product they’re buying is produced in a manner that reflects Canadian values.”