Dairy Foods Trends: Going Clean in 2016. (And by the way…how about a united front in getting more people to consume their three servings of dairy a day?)

As a parent of two teenage boys, I experience (daily) a great deal of bickering and strong dislike, but honestly, never anything as bad as what went down this week in the yogurt world. Really?

At a time when most of the U.S. dairy industry is reveling in last week’s positive positioning of dairy in the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines, how could any player condemn a reputable dairy foods business? I won’t name names, because that’s not who I am.

(If you want to view the print ad I am referencing, you can link HERE. I cannot bring myself to include such malice in this blog. This ad ran in numerous Sunday papers, including the New York Times. Such a full-page color ad in the Sunday New York Times runs for $174,760. That’s a college education for both of my boys and a car for graduation.)

We need to stand as a united front to increase dairy foods consumption, in the States and abroad. It’s a global crisis, as the human body needs the nutrient density dairy foods deliver.

With that said, product developers going forward should continue to strive for simple, clean formulations. (In case you have not heard, clean label is the future of food.) If current products in the market are well received and meet a need, and if they are helping consumers get their three servings of a dairy a day, then so be it.

Those teenage boys of mine and their friends read food labels. Going forward, label reading will continue to impact their food choices and guide them in the direction to make smart choices. I can guarantee it won’t stop them from enjoying an orange Fanta and a bag of Doritos occasionally. Heck, I even enjoy the taste of Tab now and then.

Going clean in 2016 means making better-for-you choices when formulating dairy foods. Let’s not forget that sometimes the product requires certain ingredients to meet the demands of distribution, shelf life and affordability.

Going clean is doing the best job you can in developing nutrient-dense dairy foods.

This brings me to the good people at Stonyfield. I’ve long been a fan, almost as long as I have known Gary Hirshberg, co-founder of the company. When he and Samuel Kaymen joined forces in 1983, they were simply trying to help family farms survive, protect the environment, and keep food and food production healthy through their nonprofit organic farming school. When they commercialized their yogurt production, it was not all organic, as demand for the yogurt exceeded supply of organic milk and other ingredients. Still, they focused on producing healthy, delicious food void of “unclean” ingredients.

Like anyone who became acquainted with Gary in the 90s, I quickly learned that part of his mission was to raise consumer awareness about the health- and wellness-benefits of consuming yogurt and other dairy foods. He wanted all processors to thrive and believed by making, promoting and selling the best dairy products possible, everyone was a winner. He celebrated everything dairy!

As you move forward with future innovations, focus on making clean-label choices. Invest in your business, so all players can benefit. No one benefits from name calling.