Dean Foods is one of the leading food and beverage companies in the U.S.; its Dairy Group is the largest marketer of fresh dairy products in the country. More than 50 local and regional brands exist under the Dean Foods Dairy Group umbrella. In the extremely competitive beverage industry in which Dean Foods operates, timely, accurate information and insights are critical to maintaining a position of strength.

Although his company became a client of NPD’s Food and Beverage Services division only in the past year, already Dairy Group Vice President of Marketing, Clay Boatright, reports the company is extremely pleased by the excellent return on its investment.

“We started purchasing NPD information for the first time (in 2005), and it immediately added value to our brands and business,” Boatright said. “We have always used syndicated scanner and panel data to understand the in-store environment and general purchasing behavior. NPD enlightened us on how our products and categories are used, including daypart, channel shifting and more.”

One way Dean Foods has put NPD data to work is by using it to identify growth areas for its core business, milk, as well as for new product areas. “NPD has enabled us to assess where our strengths and opportunities exist. For example, NPD quantified for us the relationship between milk and other foods, such as cereal. We also gained a better understanding of away-from-home beverage consumption needs,” Boatright said.

Specifically, the Dean Foods marketing team looked to NPD’s data to quantify the opportunities related to several new product concepts. Boatright elaborated on the benefits: “NPD helped us focus our energy and resources for the greatest return. While our NPD relationship has helped us understand historical trends from a new perspective, the true value has been in applying these learnings for the future.”

As new clients, Boatright said his company wasn’t always sure what questions to ask to maximize its NPD information. But he has found his NPD client service team to be very responsive. “The strength of NPD is not just the data delivered, but also the client service. They dissect the problem, generate the necessary data support and provide insights beyond our expectations. They often raise questions or make discoveries we may have overlooked, providing even greater knowledge to our business teams. This analytical acumen, combined with a quick response time, is uncommon in the research industry.”