Table Talk: Michele Brier, Director of Communications and Industry Relations, MilkPEP

We’re so pleased to welcome our latest Table Talk guest, Michele Brier, Director of Communications and Industry Relations at MilkPEP, interviewed by Yuni Sameshima, Chicory’s CEO and Co-Founder. In this Table Talk, you’ll hear from Michele on how MilkPEP, a national board funded by the nation’s milk companies, works with their processors, insights on the role of retailers for trade boards and the real challenger to real milk (it’s not what you think!). 

In 2019, Chicory pioneered a new Digital Shopping Aisle product in partnership with MilkPEP that enables trade and commodity boards to equitably represent all of their partners. 

The former Director of Shopper Marketing at MilkPEP, Michele now works to bring marketing programs to life for MilkPEP’s processors by helping them amplify at the local and regional level, and ensuring they know about all the resources available to them at MilkPEP to utilize in their own businesses. 

How did you get started at MilkPEP and can you walk us through your past and current roles at MilkPEP?

I’ve been with MilkPEP since November 2018. I was brought in to lead our shopper marketing effort, which was still in its infancy at the time. 2019 was an exciting year for our shopper marketing programs featuring celebrity chefs, strong partnerships, industry alignment and a new ecommerce initiative.

In 2020 when life as we know it came to a screeching halt at the end of the Q1 due to the global pandemic, we quickly changed plans to be more digitally focused as both milk sales and online grocery shopping skyrocketed. As folks were on lockdown finding comfort in activities from days gone by like baking bread, board games and comfort cooking, MilkPEP brought forward the iconic got milk? campaign for a new digitally-focused younger generation. Streamlining our programming under got milk? helped with consistency and broadened awareness.

Simultaneously, MilkPEP was innovating internally, strengthening its commitment to the processor community with the creation of a new department devoted to the industry. I was invited to help with this effort due to my diverse background spanning marketing, communications and sales. I launched our Q1 shopper program with a partnership with General Mills Big G Cereals and now, I am transitioning to my new role as Director of Communications and Industry Relations where I’ll be helping our VP of Industry Relations to create a successful department and team dedicated to our members and industry. In this newly created position, I will continue to liaison with our consumer team on programming, including shopper marketing. 

Can you explain how MilkPEP works with processors on shopper marketing campaigns and broad national programs?

MilkPEP exists to drive demand for dairy milk through category-level national consumer marketing, research and insights, education and more. As our name (Milk Processor Education Program) suggests – we educate our processors on how they can utilize the category level programs for their brands at the local and regional level. We also offer guidance on how they can utilize our national programs as surround sound while leveraging their own custom programs. Throughout the year, we also offer our members education via webinars, research and insights, and more.

How valuable are decision-making moments that occur outside of retailer environments in the pre-shop phase for commodity boards? 

I believe decision-making moments are vital in the pre-shop phase no matter where they are made. Commodity boards have an opportunity to provide broad category coverage, influencing narratives in the marketplace with an emphasis on promoting the benefits of the “category” they represent. Brands can then leverage this broad exposure or layer their own programs on top of it. If the commodity board gets consumers talking about the category, it presents a real opportunity for individual brands to join the conversation.

Whenever and wherever a consumer is looking for inspiration on what to eat or drink– recipe sites, social, etc. – we want real milk to be top-of-mind. Fortunately for real milk, we play a role every day – from breakfast to dinner and beyond with trends such as moon milk lattes or warm milk after dinner habits have taken hold. 

How do you compare regional activations vs. national programs?

Both regional and national programs play an important role. At MilkPEP, we believe for the category to grow, the individual brands must grow. Having both national (category-level) programming and regional activations by processors creates a winning combination.

At our recent panel featuring, Al Dejewski, MilkPEP’s VP of Marketing, and other commodity boards and the agencies that represent them, he said, 

“As a category, we have to be fair and equitable, so our innovation isn’t behind brands, products and packaging. It’s about the shopper journey.” 

Can you please elaborate on how you reach shoppers during their paths to purchase?

Adding on to what Al said, our innovation shows up throughout the shopper journey. Where and how we show up is the magical part. People get inspiration from so many places – it goes beyond that delicious looking social post, browsing through Pinterest or perusing a recipe site. We need to be in those places, but for milk, we need to show up elsewhere too. For us, research and insights help us fuel our programming to ensure we are reaching the right people, in the right way to move them from inspiration to purchase. 

How do you, as a trade board, build relationships with retailers? What role do retailers play in your marketing efforts?

Great questions. With retailers being a critical component of the shopper journey, we certainly work with them as media partners, but our relationships extend beyond a media buy. Several retailers, such as Kroger, are also milk processors so they are part of our organization and we serve them as part of our membership. Additionally, we partner with them from an educational perspective, helping them capitalize on the value of real milk as both a trip driver and basket builder. The numbers are powerful. Real milk has a 94% household penetration and the dairy aisle is only 3% of store space but delivers 10% of store sales and 20% of store profit. 

How do you balance national branding like the got milk? campaign and Olympics support with supporting your processors to drive sales at the local/regional level?

We think of got milk? as a platform with significant brand equity that our milk processors can leverage. By providing guidance and assets in a fair and equitable manner, we have a nice balance. We offer robust toolkits to our processor community which includes many customizable resources. Some processors like the turnkey approach while others prefer to tailor the program for their brand. Additionally, others will amplify their own custom programs outside of MilkPEP’s programs but enjoy full surround sound offered by our category-level programming. 

How are you reacting to new challenger milk alternative brands?

It is interesting because the biggest threat to real milk isn’t alternative milk-like beverages, it’s bottled water. In fact, nearly more than half of real milk categories – such as lactose-free and value-added are growing.

I’ve worked in the food industry for many years, and I’ve seen a lot of changes in eating and new products built on trends; some do stand the test of time. When I was in the artisan bread industry I was asked if gluten-free and other no/low-carb diets will crush the bread industry. My answer was always no. I feel the same way about real milk. It is a loved staple item that’s here to stay.

Follow MilkPEP on Twitter and LinkedIn, and find Michele on LinkedIn.