Dairy-related free-standing insert activity was light this week. Dairy processor Saputo offers a trial membership at Curves, while General Mills promotes its Yoplait yogurt brand.

Before Facebook and Twitter, consumers used good old word-of-mouth to tell their friends about good (or bad) experinces and products. Now, brands not only foster relationships with consumers by inviting candid feedback, but also encourage consumer-to-consumer conversation beyond their control. Mentions of products can be “hashtagged” and tracked across social media networks. These new outlets helped transform a once informal marketing tactic into a measurable campaign form. Here’s how it works.

Jim Carper's Dairy Case blog reviews this week's dairy news headlines, including: dairy processor Grassland plans to double the capacity of its milk plant; Hamdi Ulukaya, head of yogurt maker Chobani, receives an award; Coke is going to distribute dairy beverage Core Power, a popular recovery drink for athletes; the Dairy Council of California promotes the health and nutrition benefits of milk.
 

Food and beverage packaging — notably aseptic packaging — is one area where dairy brands have dramatically improved the footprint of the dairy supply chain, achieving savings through reduced energy and distribution costs, while increasing capacity for retailers. Less obvious are the environmental improvements that dairy producers can achieve on the plant level through processing efficiencies.
 

Land O' Lakes has a four cheese Italian blend and Dairy Farmers of America touts its new smoked Cheddar cheese in this week's free-standing inserts.

A look at the people, products and processors making the news this week. In this edition: Dairy Farmers of America, Unilever, Golden Glen Creamery, Karoun, Safeway Lucerne and more.

In the 150th anniversary year of the first pasteurization test completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard, it was both a thrill and an honor to hear the GHG (greenhouse gas) calculators developed by the Innovation Center for US Dairy described as the “must-have” equipment for dairy plants.

Since 1944, the U.S. dairy industry has been producing a gallon of milk with 90% less land, 65% less water, 76% less manure, and a 63% smaller carbon footprint. The Fuel Up to Play 60 program is recognized nationwide for improving nutrition in schools, with an emphasis on the importance of physical fitness. Through their checkoff, dairy farmers have made a $250 million commitment over five years to this program alone. And this has shown tangible results.