The marketing team at the milk processing arm of Kroger Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, created a themed label for half-gallon jugs of low-fat chocolate milk for its “Chocolate Milk – The Official Drink of Halloween” campaign.

While Sunnyside Farms had previously teamed with its owner Save Mart Supermarkets (a unit of Super Store Industries) on a sponsorship of the Amgen Tour of California, the dairy processor had not put its efforts into promoting solely one product at the cycling event.

To encourage more milk consumption among high school students, Producers Dairy Foods, Fresno, Calif., partnered with the California Milk Processors Board for its second annual three-week Got Milk? Breakfast Challenge. Fresno Unified School District high schools were invited to participate in the contest.

Lehigh Valley Dairy Farms, Lansdale, Pa., promoted its chocolate milk offerings in Walmart stores in the Northeast during a month-long “Official Drink of Halloween” program in October 2010.

Much like the rest of the beverage industry, retailers and distributors of dairy beverage products are faced with the challenge of having to meet the needs of increasingly discerning consumers who are short on time and constantly on the go.

It’s difficult enough for any business to stay relevant, especially when it has brands established 100 or more years ago. Then throw in the challenge of adapting to ever-changing consumer tastes and habits, not to mention manufacturing in an era when a small carbon footprint is a measure of a corporation’s citizenship. That’s part of the landscape in the 21st century, and every business operates in it, some better than others.