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Prevailing Plastic
Studies show single-serve bottles continue to boost school milk sales.
As the industry takes
what’s hoped to be a short-term hit on the cost of plastic resin,
research continues to indicate that school milk in plastic single-serve
bottles sells better than their paperboard counterparts, Dairy Management
Inc. (DMI) reported this past summer.
Consistent with DMI’s School Milk Packaging
Sensory Testing Topline Report, significant boosts in milk sales have
coincided with the introduction of plastic packaging in retail, commercial
foodservice and school settings. In particular, the highly successful
School Milk Pilot Test (SMPT), conducted by the School Nutrition
Association in the 2000-01 school year, showed an average sales increase of
18 percent when cold, flavored milk in kid-appealing plastic packaging was
merchandized visibly on the meal line, a la carte and in vending.
The purpose of this research was to determine if
school-age children prefer school milk in plastic or paperboard containers
and to find out how children rate milk in plastic and paperboard containers
on overall liking, appearance, ease of use, flavor perceptions and other
attributes.
School children were shown two school milk containers
— a paperboard carton and a plastic bottle — each containing
milk of the same brand, flavor and fat level. The youngsters then answered
questions about which product they preferred, and additional questions
about the flavor, container appearance, container functionality and
purchase interest of the two samples. Research was conducted in four
markets with four local brands of school milk. In each market, milk
products were paired to be identical except for the package type.
Key findings indicated the majority of school children
tested said that school milk in the plastic bottle was “better
overall” compared to the identical school milk packaged in a paper
carton, had “the better container,” was easier to drink from,
easier to open, had a better flavor, and were more than twice as likely to
say they would choose milk in a plastic bottle over a paper container.
For DMI’s full Topline Report, contact David
Pelzer, DMI’s vice president of industry relations, at (847)
803-2000. Research conducted by Peryam & Kroll Research
Corp., Chicago.
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