The California Milk Advisory Board Kicked off June Dairy Month on World Milk Day with an announcement of a CADAIRY4GOOD partnership with Raley’s Food For Families program. The kickoff event was held June 1st at the Raley’s Freeport Blvd. location in Sacramento and featured remarks from CA Ag Secretary Karen Ross. The Giving Gallons initiative, which features signage and checkout prompts at all Raley’s locations, will raise up to $40,000 to supply up to 13,000 gallons of fluid milk to 12 California food bank locations. This is part of California dairy farm families’ ongoing commitment to nourishing families everywhere that will continue during September Hunger Action Month with fluid milk donations and community milk drives. Also on June 1st, the CMAB launched the 5th annual Real California Milk Excelerator dairy innovation competition with a media announcement as well as the launch of the program website: realcamilkexcelerator.com. This year’s Open Innovation theme puts the continued spotlight on milk and dairy as essential ingredients for innovative products including, but not limited to foods, beverages, personal care products, packaging, material sciences, textiles, pet products, or anything else using dairy in an innovative way. The application deadline is July 7, 2023.

On June 12-14 CMAB will co-host the Dairy Nourishes \America Western Symposium with Feeding America, the California Association of Food Banks, and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. This event, which brings together stakeholders from food banks/feeding programs, dairy checkoff organizations, coops, processors, and funding organizations, focuses on building relationships and creating solutions to increase access to the protein and nutrients provided by milk and dairy products to all communities.

For the retail/consumer side, June marks the return of our popular summer retail snacking promotion, which encourages consumers to “Snack Happy” with Real California dairy products from cheese and yogurt to frozen treats and more. Consumers will be on the go with family celebrations, road trips and outdoor gatherings and we know, regardless of the event, happy snacks begin with our favorite dairy foods.

This month-long campaign carries us through June and well into July as National Ice Cream month and features an integrated program with multiple retail partners and 681 stores in California. The “Snack Happy This Summer” promotion elevates awareness of California dairy products through integrated digital media and in-store elements. This will consist of targeted digital ads and social media posts, email communication, and rebate offers through Instacart, and recipes featured on Chicory. In-store components include Shelftalk and Floortalk signage. An advertising and public relations surround sound campaign features influencer partnerships with posts on Instagram and TikTok platforms, as well as earned media outreach to spotlight trends in dairy snacks.

CMAB also highlighted a variety of innovative, on-trend sustainably sourced dairy products at the 2023 International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) show in Anaheim. An assortment of dairy applications were sampled including specialty cheeses, lassi, kefir, desserts, and cultured dairy beverages.

The Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City will also serve as an outlet for the CMAB to showcase all that real dairy foods have to offer by sampling specialty cheeses, Hispanic-style dairy, lassi, and protein puff snacks.

Real California dairy products – specifically unexpected uses for Italian-style cheeses – will be featured in a trends discussion and in applications during the CAFÉ Leadership Conference targeting culinary instructors and students.

Finally, the CMAB will connect with cheese professionals as a sponsor of the Cheesemonger Invitational in New York, where we’ll present on California dairy sustainability.