New research from the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin (DFW) revealed consumer appreciation for Wisconsin Cheese has grown significantly.

DFW tracks awareness and perceptions of Wisconsin as a cheese origin with our target market. This is a measure of all DFW’s marketing efforts with the key objective of lifting perceptions of Wisconsin Cheese among consumers. The latest research shows:

  • Wisconsin is the No. 1 top-of-mind cheese origin among U.S. cheese shoppers/consumers;
  • Among U.S. cheese shoppers, Wisconsin leads in front of other domestic and international origins with imagery attributed to great tasting, and nearly 90% agree that Wisconsin cheeses are from a place with a long tradition of cheese-making; 
  • Awareness of the Proudly Wisconsin Cheese badge – on the front of Wisconsin Cheese and Dairy labels -- grew 350% in the past 3 years among the target audience; and
  • Consider-to-purchase conversion rates grew 80% among the target audience in the last 5 years. 

“Helping grow demand for the $45.6 billion Wisconsin dairy industry is not a job to be taken lightly,” says Chad Vincent, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. “The entire staff works diligently to be tireless advocates for our dairy farmers, and the research results prove we are making progress.”

The marketing team has already achieved $60 million in earned public relations coverage over the past six months, earning placements and telling our cheese, farmer and dairy stories in key publications like Forbes, Tasting Table, Mashed, and NBC. Food52, a leading ‘foodie’ publication, developed a cheese-forward "Meet the Makers" video series, which to date has delivered over 5 million views across various Food52 platforms. In just the month of January 2023, DFW has earned accolades for multiple initiatives, including the following:

Grate. Pair. Share, DFW’s digital cooking and lifestyle magazine, won three awards at the 16th annual AVA Digital Awards. The e-magazine focuses on a blend of the three major themes that interest our target audience: knowledge, inspiration, and storytelling about Wisconsin Cheese. Harvest 2022 and Spring 2022 earned Platinum awards, and Summer 2022 received a gold award.

Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin took first place at the 2023 Winter Fancy Food show, winning the Booth Contest. With more than 13,000 qualified industry participants and more than 1,100 exhibiting companies at Winter Fancy Food, DFW maximizes the opportunity to meet with key distributors and retailers and demonstrates the top-tier quality of Wisconsin dairy products. Placing first for booth design, branding and staff performance -- the Wisconsin Cheese pavilion stood out.

Wisconsin Cheese Broadcast earned a National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) Award for Cheese Champions Virtual Media Tour. The awards program honors the best work in agricultural communications. The campaign for the tour featuring info-, recipe- and idea-packed sessions led by prominent spokespeople earned a Merit award. It will advance to the National Best of NAMA competition in April.

Previously, the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin team achieved a Guinness World Record, received national recognition for the 'Cheeselandia' social media campaign, and won multiple marketing awards.