Get a Grip!

Dairy Foods, Feb, 2000 by Jerry Dryer

Get a grip! That's what Land O' Lakes has started telling everyone from pre-teens in tennis shoes to little old ladies in bedroom slippers. And every milk drinker can get a Grip with Land O' Lakes' new ergonomically designed "Grip 'n Go" bottles. Land O' Lakes has just raised the competitive bottle bar in the beverage milk business.

Over the past several years, numerous dairies have introduced round, clear plastic single-serve bottles. In my opinion, the labels haven't been too pretty, but the bottle was progress. Then Dean's Chugs came along with a great bottle design and striking colors on the labels. About a year ago the folks at Smith Dairy Products added extended shelflife to the plastic bottle game. Now, Nestle has initiated a national rollout of a line of 16-oz flavors in nifty, even futuristic, extended shelflife plastic bottles.

All of this progress notwithstanding, the introduction of the Land O' Lakes Grip 'n Go 12-oz dairy beverage bottle last month has just moved the dairy beverage business to a new height. They have combined all of the positives of the past and added some more flair.

It all starts with the ergonomically designed bottle. I call it the milk bottle with a waistline. The "curves" are crafted for small hands and big hands, the young and the old, the strong and the not so strong. The cap twists off easily and it's easy to re-close. Focus groups called the mouth opening "user-friendly," with fewer drips and less mess.

Land O' Lakes also escaped from the single-serve morass of pints and half-pints. All of the consumer research told LOL that 8 oz isn't enough and 16 oz is too much, especially for flavored dairy beverages. And a major retailer confirmed it. Referring to the 12-oz size and the curves, he said: "This is the most innovative thing I've seen come out of the dairy business in years."

Round and curvy. Extended shelflife. Plastic. Easy open. Easy close. All wrapped up in a bold, classy label. Two sizes: 12 and 32 oz. White, two chocolates and more flavors and varieties to follow. As LOL marketing manager Dave Haley predicts, "We'll sell enough additional milk to keep the cows off the streets."

I concur, and so did the research subjects when they asked: "Where can I buy it? How soon?"

Dryer is president of J/D/G Consulting, a dairy marketing, communications and forecasting company in Chicago.