For the first time in 22 years, ADPI and its conference partner ABI will be hosting their traditional Chicago-based Joint Annual Conference via a unique and exciting virtual format.   Don’t worry about travel restrictions, face mask needs, hand sanitizers and groups over 20! ADPI and ABI will be delivering this premier conference and excellent content right to you regardless of your physical location.

The American Dairy Products Institute in conjunction with the American Butter Institute is excited to announce that the 2020 Joint Annual Conference scheduled for July is now going virtual! 

For the first time in 22 years, ADPI and its conference partner ABI will be hosting their traditional Chicago-based Joint Annual Conference via a unique and exciting virtual format via a computer of your choosing.

In our business, it seems we’ve arrived at a critical point or crossroads, in our journey, and we are being challenged by obstacles here-to-fore never experienced. When we began our journey, you could argue that the challenges faced were more about consumer education of all the positive benefits of dairy products and dairy ingredients relative to availability, application, usage, and diversity.  No one questioned that the nutritional value and health and wellness impacts were positive.  There were some “speed bumps” along the way but mostly due to financial concerns i.e.  development of oleo margarine to compete with butter, or processed cheese to compete with natural cheese.  In these speed bumps, innovation played a role, and you could argue that it resulted from necessity, and was mandated by consumers at the time.

Back in the early 1800’s, and ever since in the agricultural southeastern and southwestern regions of the US, the phrase “a hard row to hoe” was and is often heard.  For those who grew up on farms or spent quality time in a garden, you already know what it means.  For those who are less fortunate as to never having worked on a farm or prepared and tended a proper garden, the phrase means that one is in a difficult spot, and/or has a difficult task ahead.  

Everybody Loves Butter!      Go Bold with Butter!          FAT is Flavor!

What a difference 30 years and science makes relative to our perceptions as to what is good for us, and not so good for us……related to butter!
 

The health and safety of ADPI members and attendees during our ADPI hosted events is a critically important goal. We are closely monitoring the potential impact on travel related to COVID-19, and will provide updates as available and deemed necessary. As of now, the CDC, US federal, state, and local public health officials have advised individuals to avoid large gatherings. In addition, several U.S. states have declared states of emergency to be able to access federal assistance, that as a side effect is disrupting travel and events across the country. Many of these events have been cancelled altogether or postponed / rescheduled to future dates in time.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been able to spend quality time, albeit under “social distancing” guidelines, with friends, neighbors and family, and most not directly connected to the dairy industry.  Never the less, all of whom are consumers of food and beverage products and from many different genres. In many of these interactions, conversations eventually turned to dairy and dairy products whether planned or not.  Stimuli for same ranged from comments about the beverages being served at a party, the puddings, pies and cakes serves as dinner deserts, and the widespread diet rationale laments of most everyone, etc.  I also found it interesting that questions often posed in these informal conversations were related to what’s up with this “real vs. fake milk” controversy to “proteins” i.e. and aren’t all proteins the same in the end points of view.

 

Our dairy ingredients industry, from processing through to end user, has many practices in place to deal with the hazards of the present COVID-19 crisis. In the crisis we face, we have to account for unknown circumstances, and then take what actions we can to control them. The changes will need to stay in place for several years as hotspots erupt and/or seasonal patterns are discovered.

We need to gain time to find the most effective therapeutic treatments, develop a preventative vaccine, and determine the length of immunity for recovered individuals.

As we all try and figure out the new normal, we’d like to share some things to consider regarding Telecommunications, Telecommuting and Teleconferencing.

Note to ADPI members from President and CEO, Blake Anderson

Our dairy industry is critical to our food security, and ADPI along with other industry groups including IDFA, NMPF, DMI/USDEC and others, stand ready to do our part to continue to collaborate to ensure food security. We are all appreciative of your work to safeguard dairy from significant supply chain disruptions, to the best of your ability, in the foreseeable future. 

Often, we use the word “ingredient” in our daily dairy lexicon, and depending on the context, it means different things to different people.                              

Did you know that there are some 600+ different products/ingredients that can be derived from a pail of milk, and more evolving through innovation all the time? They range from complete fractions to different specifications for efficacy in use, but never the less…..a whole lot of really good stuff originates with and from “milk.”  Some “ingredients” are easily identifiable as you would not consume them individually i.e. Whey Protein Concentrates (WPC) or Isolates (WPI), or Non-Fat Dry Milk (NFDM) or Anhydrous Milk Fat (AMF).  Others, are ambidextrous so to speak and can be consumed directly as well as perform as ingredients.  Some of these dual-purpose dairy derived products are Cream, Butter, Cheese, Concentrated Milks in the “evaporated or condensed” format, and even regular liquid whole and skim milks.  So how do we as an industry determine what is a finished product as opposed to what is an ingredient?

After careful consideration, ADPI/ABI has made the decision to postpone and reschedule the ADPI/ABI Joint Annual Conference originally slated for April 26-28, 2020.  The new dates are: July 26 - 28, 2020.  The venue and location will remain the same, at the Hyatt Regency Downtown, in Chicago, IL, USA.
 

Our decision to postpone and reschedule this annual industry key event was not taken lightly. ADPI and ABI have been closely monitoring updates an

Program Rescheduled to October 11 – 13, 2020

 ADPI, expresses our concern and support to and for our members, colleagues, suppliers, exhibitors, sponsors, conference attendees and their respective organizations who have been impacted by the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) health emergency.

All things considered, and in the spirit of health and safety first, ADPI is announcing that the 22nd Dairy Ingredients Technical Symposium to be held in Santa Barbara, CA has officially been postponed and rescheduled for October 11 - 13, 2020.  The location and venue will remain the same, with the event taking place at the Hilton Beachfront Resort in Santa Barbara, CA.

When one hears the word sustainability today, most folks immediately go to one of the three foundational aspects i.e. the Environment (Planet). What many don’t realize, or give credence to are the other two foundational elements being 1. Social (People) and 2. Economic (Profits)

Billboards, the long standing, invasive methodology used by companies to create awareness of or attention to, a particular product, service, issue or opportunity are still alive and well in this day and age of digital communication and social media.

Burma Shave billboards, for those of us old enough to remember, were some of the most famous in the US and actually drew attention to a product, brushless shaving cream, in a humorous way that both educated and engaged with consumers (motorist) during a highway road9ol;./trip. They were highly effective as they engaged consumers in an emotional way (humor) about a new innovative, and science-based product that had a relative value proposition compared to the old product (shaving cup soap w/ brush).  They are enshrined in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. in case you want to have a look.

The Burma Shave “marketers” did not dwell on the science, or message with words that could not be pronounced much less understood by their targeted consumers.  They spoke to the viewers in plain language and delivered a compelling message to both try and to use the product and the inherent benefits for doing so.  They actually created a “cool factor” for folks in actually knowing and being able to recite their rhyming messages.  They (billboards) were sequentially placed, usually no more or less than six in a row total, and simply worded in rhymes. Another tactical, but strategically important related activity was to keep the billboards “fresh” by having many different rhymes that stayed in rotation to keep reader interest and engagement.

ADPI President & CEO Blake Anderson provides the Inside Perspective on Dairy's Future for the February issue of "Dairy Foods Magazine"

American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI) held its Winter 2020 Board of Directors meeting in Clearwater, FL during Feb 12-14. This year, in addition to the regular meeting agenda topics/format, ADPI’s Executive Committee participated in a pre-strategy work session. This year marks ADPI’s 95th year of continuous operation, making it an appropriate time to review and revise its current strategy to ensure relevance going forward.

Just back from IDFA’s Dairy Forum in Scottsdale, AZ this past week and it was great to see and converse with so many “stewards and stakeholders” of our industry.
 

Michael Dykes, Heather Soubra and the IDFA team did a terrific job in hosting this meeting, and in enabling all attending the opportunity to feel, and be energized by “The Power of Dairy.”
 

I was fortunate to be able to not only attend most of the key sessions and listen to various speakers, but also to participate in upwards of 35+ meetings and conversations with both current and many potential new ADPI members. Invariably, in many of these interactions, questions arose as to what the similarities and differences are between what we’ll call the “alphabet soup” of trade associations in the dairy industry.

Dairy, Dairy So Contrary....how will the future go?

Written by Blake Anderson, President & CEO- ADPI
January 21, 2020

A year ago, at IDFA’s Dairy Forum, one of the keynote speakers, Ken Schmidt, a former Director of Communications at Harley-Davidson Motor Company, rode into the grand ballroom and onto the stage atop a revved-up Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He then commenced to mesmerize the audience of dairy processors and related stakeholders with a non-conventional message focused on “speaking truth to power” and thinking outside the box. You should read his book for the juicy bits, but at the end of his remarks he brought it all together by challenging our “dairy industry” with three simple questions. These questions, to me at least, have been like a catchy song you hear and cannot get out of your head. Now here we are a year later, and they remain relevant and most apropos to our situation.

ADPI®, the American Dairy Products Institute®, is in its 95th year of continuous operation of, for and by its members. The “Institute” is proof positive that enabling a collaborative environment whereby people and organizations can work together for mutual benefits can thrive, innovate, and improve products, processes, and consumers lives.