Focusing on Gen Z consumers to boost dairy demand

ROSEMONT, Ill. — Gen Z consumers are tech native since they are born and raised with smartphones and the internet.

“Our 2021 unified marketing plan is focusing more intensely on Gen Z, which are kids 10 to 23 years old,” said Barbara O’Brien, president of Dairy Management Inc. “We know based on research this is a generation that is setting themselves apart.”

In addition, these consumers have a lot of spending power.

“Their spending power is estimated at $100 billion and they’re changing expectations of brands,” O’Brien said. “They are willing to spend their money on brands that are doing good and right in their view.”

This generation has a philosophy about balance and healthy eating.

“To them it means feeding their body what it needs, but also what it craves,” O’Brien said. “That gives us an enormous opportunity to feature both nutrition and indulgence in products.”

The dairy checkoff is actively testing new programs, new partners and new messages to insure dairy products are relevant to Gen Z consumers.

“They are digitally savvy and are willing to share their data in exchange for more personalized content and recommendations meant just for them,” O’Brien said.

“Today kids are learning opinions about what food to eat well beyond the classroom and cafeteria walls,” said Anne Warden, DMI executive vice president of strategic integration. “They are bombarded with opinions on what is good and bad for them on social media, from celebrities and from friends.”

In addition, kids have so many more choices for foods and beverages than ever before.

“When you add in kids are more disconnected from where their food comes from because so few have the benefit of being able to set foot on a farm, that leads to questions about whether dairy is good for the environment,” Warden said.

“That makes it critical we make sure they understand that milk and dairy have unparallel combination of nutrients, the products are made with care and they have a taste that can’t be matched,” Warden said.

“We are focusing on Gen Z because they are having a massive impact on how businesses operate,” Warden said. “We’re going to need to be adept at communicating with them to support dairy’s long-term future.”

DMI has launched a Beat the Lag campaign.

“The Beat the Lag campaign is about how dairy foods and beverages can give gamers an energy boost during a long stretch of gaming,” Warden said.

“We’re partnering with Jordan Maron, aka Captain Sparklez, to help us get millions of his fans to come up with their own ideas for what dairy snacks help them beat the human lag,” Warden said.

Captain Sparklez started making videos for YouTube in 2010 and now has 11 million followers.

“I wish I had an exact answer to why people watch me,” Maron said. “Maybe it’s a combination of showing people things they can do in games, following along for story lines or maybe they are interested in listening to me speak.”

One of Maron’s favorite foods is pizza.

“I’m also a huge fan of drinks with added milk or cream, sodas with cream added are delicious,” he said. “Getting to work with the dairy industry seemed like a natural link.”

Maron took a virtual tour of Nevin Lemos’ dairy farm in California, where he milks 400 head of Jersey cows. Lemos is a fourth-generation farmer and he started his farm four years ago when he was 20 years old.

“I’ve never been on a dairy farm, so I was going in blind,” Captain Sparklez said. “It was very cool to see, Nevin has a lot to manage and it’s very impressive.”

The YouTuber has a cow named after him at the dairy farm, Sparklez.

“Maybe one day I’ll be able to go there and meet her,” Maron said.

“I was impressed with Jordan’s question to understand the business as a system,” Lemos said. “Maybe it’s that gamer mentality in video games to level up, it’s systematic and dairies are very systematic and organized.”

“The goal is to inform the Gen Z audience that dairy is protein packed and it can help fuel you up whether you’re gaming, doing homework or work,” Maron said about the Beat the Lag campaign. “Before you play video games you can be bogged down by your own tiredness, so a buildup on protein is a good way to prevent that.”

Captain Sparklez has released a couple of YouTube videos for recipes that incorporate dairy products, such as pizza rolls.

Maron is also hosting a contest for gamers to submit dairy recipes.

“The winners of the contest will get gaming gear through the contest and recipe inspiration,” he said.

“I think it is important to work with people like Jordan due to his influence on Gen Z because I think Gen Z is straying away from the amount of influence they take from Hollywood celebrities,” Lemos said. “They really value YouTube personalities because it’s more on a real level, so if gaming resonates with Gen Z then that’s a good place to put our focus.”

For more information about the dairy checkoff, go to www.usdairy.com.