Brits are spending up to £2,000 a year on lunch and snacks!...

When a recent survey revealed we spend an incredible £2,000 a year on lunch and snacks, we weren’t too surprised! As a nation we’re always on the go and never have enough time to prepare breakfast and lunch at home, that’s why food-on-the-go is so popular and an ever growing industry.

The stats revealed a third of workers pay around £4 a day for lunch, £1.33 on snacks and one in ten will also buy breakfast on the run. With Modern Milk launching this week it’s good to see that even despite the recession consumers still like to treat themselves to snacks on a daily basis.

One of the stats that did make us smile was that 17% of people buy their lunch because they hate soggy sandwiches!

The downside to retailers providing lunch on-the-go, especially salads and sandwiches, is the products have a very short shelf life and a fair bit of food must go to waste. We have ensured Modern Milk’s shelf life is not too short, whilst still keeping the milk fresh and full of goodness.

Just one more day until Modern Milk is revealed at Lunch! in London – as you can imagine we’re busy finalising last minute preparations! Do come back and see how we got on at Lunch!...

We’ll also be revealing where you can find Modern Milk sitting ‘differently’ in the chilled snacks fridge...

Come and have ‘Lunch!’ with us…

The excitement is just getting too much at the Lakeland Dairies offices at the moment as we’re gearing up for the launch of our new Modern Milk range. The team will be launching the new milk drink at ‘Lunch!', the contemporary food-to-go show, 30 September – 1 October 2010, at Old Billingsgate, London.

We will be at the show both days and would love people to come along and try out our delicious, healthy, new product. The team will be available to chat about the development of Modern Milk and the high hopes we have for the future. Feel free to ask us anything!

If you cannot make it to ‘Lunch!’ with us and have any burning questions or would like to sample the product, then please feel free to get in touch with us here.

We will of course be back next week to show you some great pictures of the launch and chat about how it all went…wish us luck! The countdown starts now…

If you’re attending the show and would like to book a briefing with one of the ‘Modern Milk’ team, please contact us.

Modern Milk thinks differently about snacking...

People don’t often look to milk as a satisfying snack but we’re about to change that. Due to its protein content and low GI level, milk is naturally filling and is ideal to fill that hunger gap. With a 330ml pack size and its added fibre, Modern Milk drinks will keep the consumer fulfilled for longer, providing a really satisfying snack.

How do we see Modern Milk fitting into consumers’ lives? Well, we are a busy nation that is always on the run. Often, we don’t have time to stop and think, sit down and eat breakfast or plan our nutritious intake for the working day ahead. This is where Modern Milk comes in – as a filling snack Modern Milk is ideal to fill that hunger gap, whether it be to keep customers going until lunch, for elevenses or simply to fit into the commute or when out and about.

So now you may be thinking - "With Modern Milk being a snack, what buying category will this fit into?"

Firstly, we want to ask you to think differently about the drinks and snacks category…

We’re not just asking the consumer to think differently about milk, we’re also asking you, the trade, to do so as well! Our research has shown that although the drinks and snacks category is a popular one with a whole range of products, the consumer is still looking for healthier choices that are fulfilling and can fit into their busy modern lifestyles. Our research has also shown that Modern Milk fulfills this requirement because not only is it a refreshing beverage, it also offers a credible alternative as a healthy, satisfying snack that can easily be consumed on the go.

We believe this will encourage more consumers into the category on a regular basis as they discover that Modern Milk is a compelling choice as either a refreshing beverage or a delicious snack.

So that’s how we think differently about snacking…has this got you thinking differently?

Modern Milk thinks differently about goodness...

Welcome back! We’ve had a busy week working hard on the new brand and getting Modern Milk onto the shelves.

Following our last introduction to the new milk snack, we wanted you to know how we are thinking differently about goodness and getting essential nutrients required for a healthy diet and lifestyle.

The goodness starts from the very beginning - our cows graze in Ireland’s emerald green fields to generously provide the very best milk for blending with natural flavours. The bottles are brimming with the intrinsic natural goodness of low fat fresh milk and enriched with extra calcium (70% RDA of calcium per bottle), vitamin D (to help the bones absorb calcium better) and fibre (for a healthy digestive system).

Some of you would have seen that Vitamin D has been causing quite a stir in the press recently. Research has shown that up to 40% of Britons may have dangerously low levels of Vitamin D in their blood. The main issue is that vitamin D is mainly derived from sunlight and unfortunately the UK consumer doesn’t get enough of it (although we doubt that a lack of sunshine is news to anyone!).

Not only is Vitamin D necessary for the body to absorb calcium, it is also known to be vital for the healthy functioning of hundreds of genes controlling basic body functions, many of which will be revealed in research that will be published very soon. Other recent research has led to calls for state intervention and the Daily Mail has published an article stating that there is pressure on Britain to follow countries such as Finland and Canada in fortifying milk and other products. The arrival of Modern Milk is therefore good news for the UK consumer! With our modern approach to milk and with our aim to make being healthy much easier for our customers, this will hopefully help us all to drink more milk on a daily basis.

We do want to add that even though our milk is naturally flavoured it is still milk as it should be – not too thick and not too gloopy!

So that’s how we think differently about goodness…has this got you thinking differently?

What is Modern Milk...?

So, you’ve found yourself here and you’re probably thinking ‘what is Modern Milk?’…well firstly we would like to say hi, and thank you for visiting our page.

We’d like to introduce you to our new product, brand and vision in weekly posts that we hope you will find interesting. Any comments and feedback are more than welcome and we would love for you to be involved in the journey and the evolution of the exciting new Modern Milk brand.

So here we go….In a nutshell, Modern Milk is a new, deliciously sophisticated milk created for today’s busy people. Available in a range of grown up, subtle flavour combinations, it combines the inherent goodness of milk with additional health benefits of added calcium, vitamin D and fibre. Most importantly, it is a fashionable and great tasting way to introduce more milk into the modern lifestyle.

Modern Milk has been developed by Lakeland Dairies, an Irish dairy co-operative with more than 100 years’ experience and tradition in producing premium quality dairy products. At the heart of Lakeland Dairies are our many farmers, who for generations have been providing the very best milk from cows that graze on the lush green pastures that Ireland is so well known for. With such a high quality raw material and where dairy farming is a way of life for our farmers, the many benefits of milk is no strange concept to us.

The UK adult consumer told us that although they love milk on cereals or to put the froth on a latte and while they understand the inherent benefits and the goodness of milk, it has gone off their radar when they need a long drink or snack. Naturally, as lovers of all things milk, we realised it was time for people to rethink milk!

Our aim...

So, by developing a fashionable, healthy and delicious product that thinks differently about milk in many aspects, we want to encourage busy, health aware adults to introduce more milk into their daily routine.

How? By asking the consumer to re think milk, by thinking differently about milk.

Modern Milk thinks differently about drinking more milk...

We are introducing a range of natural, healthy and delicious dairy beverages in a format that is especially for the adult. It is ideal for busy people to consume on the go as either a refreshing beverage or a satisfying snack. We hope to encourage UK adults to realise that it’s now easier for them to drink more milk and as an added bonus, to get closer to fulfilling the 3 servings of dairy a day as recommended by the UK Dairy Council.

Modern Milk is available in a convenient 330ml environmentally friendly screw top Tetra carton - ideal for those active people to consume at any time. So whether it is on the way to work, in the car, at work, after the gym or when out and about, Modern Milk can become a part of daily life.

More about the flavours...

So now you know a bit more about why Modern Milk is so different, here’s a bit more about the flavours. A great deal of time and effort went into our research to ensure our flavours hit the spot! We’re proud of the natural and subtle ingredients that have gone into Modern Milk and are introducing a whole new combination of flavours. Launching this year are:

- Smooth coffee with a hint of vanilla
- Milk chocolate with a hint of golden caramel
- Lush banana with a hint of honey
- Ripe strawberry and raspberry

We don’t want to waffle on for too much longer so we’ll leave it here for now…however please do come back soon to find out even more about Modern Milk and the developments in the launch of the exciting new milk drink!

Our next posts will be looking at how Modern Milk thinks differently about:
- Goodness
- Snacking
- And about the drinks and snacks category

We hope you will come back to learn more about Modern Milk and we have got you starting to think differently about milk...