Modern Milk getting UK students 'warmed up' with campus campaign
The Modern Milk range, manufactured by Lakeland Dairies’ foodservice arm Pritchitts, was relaunched last month after a two-year market absence.
The long-life, semi-skimmed, vitamin D-enriched flavoured milk range is now available in three flavours – Chocolate with a Hint of Fudge, Coffee with a Hint of Vanilla, and Strawberry with a Hint of Cream.
“The whole offering is a little more sophisticated, which we hope will resonate with students,” Simon Muschamp, head of marketing, Pritchitts, told DairyReporter.com.
Hoping to spread the word about Modern Milk among its new target market Pritchitt’s has in recent weeks been distributing samples of its 330ml flavoured milk cartons at eight universities up and down the UK.
“What we’re trying to do is get student consumers warmed up," said Muschamp.
Pritchitts believes the high vitamin D content of its new range will play a significant part in attracting students between the ages of 16 and 21.
“We see it as a fulfilling snack. It’s a great alternative to other snacks – a healthier alternative,” said Muschamp.
“We’ve added extra vitamin D, which seems to resonate with students."
"But the crucial element is taste. We’ve spent a lot of time ensuring the taste combination works," he said.
Carton with straw
The original Modern Milk range, launched in a variety of flavours in 2010, was packaged in a 330ml Tetra Pak screw top carton.
“Then it was touted more for retail,” said Muschamp. “We got some pretty good listings, but in the long term we couldn’t sustain it in that format.”
Now, Pritchitt’s has swapped its on-the-go carton, arguably more suitable for further and higher education students, for a 330ml carton with straw format.
“We had a lot of different pack formats to choose from,” said Muschamp. “We had to look carefully at carton with straw for slightly older students."
"We did research to see if it was a problem. So far they don’t seem to have an issue with it.”
Just weeks into the Smart Choice relaunch campaign, which gives students the chance to win a smartphone of their choice by simply posting a picture of themselves with a carton of Modern Milk on Twitter or Facebook, Pritchitts has secured a listing with a "major wholesaler."
“One of the major wholesalers is taking it from next month," said Muschamp. "From there we hope it will cascade down.”
“It’s a little too early to tell how successful it will be.”
“But by January we hope the product will be widely available at universities nationally," he added.
