lew Trends in Milk Marketing 



By Wilfred Shaw, Director Milk Marketing 



MODERN MILK CONTAH^ERS 

 Fibre bottles filled with milk 

 and cream are going over big 

 with housewives. They are 

 clean and sanitary, require no 

 washing. 



Wilfred Shaw 



^^ - ILK marketing and the 

 /^ ^\ ij milk industry today are 



^ ^Vf undergoing many changes. 



The changes themselves, the reasons 



for them and the trends in distribution, 

 pricing and san- 

 itary standards 

 should be of in- 

 terest to every- 

 one. I do not 

 expect or even 

 hope to have 

 the unanimous 

 agreement of 

 those engaged 

 in the milk in- 

 dustry in this 

 appraisal. M y 

 desire is to 

 point out some 

 of the changes 



taking place in the milk industry as I 



observe them and to indicate the factors 



which I believe have brought them about. 

 Five trends which seem to be espe- 

 cially noticeable are: 



1. The change from selling sub- 

 stantially all bottled milk to consumers 

 on milk routes to the sale of a larger 

 percentage through stores on a cash 

 and carry basis at lower prices. 



2. The trend among coop)eratives 

 away from a flat price plan of selling 

 milk for bottling to a flexible price 

 plan based upon a premium over the 

 monthly producers evaporated milk 

 price. 



3. The marked trend toward a 

 wider range of milk containers includ- 

 ing half-gallon and gallon containers 

 in addition to the conventional quart 

 and fractional quart sizes. 



DANVILLE'S NEWEST CASH AND CARRY DAIRY 

 Located in a busy residential shopping district, the Producers Dairy is a popular 

 stopping place. 



4. The trend toward uniformity in 

 city milk ordinances with production 

 and plant quality standards on a state- 

 wide and inter-state basis. 



5. The trend toward increased Fed- 

 eral and State milk market supervision. 



Few people who have any knowledge 

 of the milk business will deny that the 

 cost of milk distribution is too high. 

 Most everyone has his own ideas on 

 this subject usually dependent upon his 

 particular interest in the industry. Some 

 claim producers' milk prices are too 

 high. Others claim inefficient opera- 



In St. Louis the use of 

 gallon and half-gallon con- 

 tainers was an important 

 factor in increasing bottled 

 milk sales this yeaz. 



tions of milk dealers. Still others say 

 that labor costs are excessive. 



Whatever the cause of high process- 

 ing and distribution costs, the result is 

 becoming more and more apparent. 

 Consumption of fresh bottled milk in 

 the United States has declined. In 1928 

 consumption of milk in the United 

 States was 39.8 gallons yearly per cap- 

 ita and in 1938 this had declined to 

 39 gallons per capita. In the north 

 central region of the United States, 

 which includes the State of Illinois, 

 the yearly per capita consumption of 

 milk in 1926 was 41.8 gallons and in 

 1936 it was 39 gallons or a decrease of 

 6.7 percent. The sale of the cheaper 

 competitive products such as canned 

 milk has increased enormously. In 1938 

 the annual per capita consumption of 

 canned milk was- 2.6 gallons while in 

 1938 it was 3-7 gallons or an increase 

 of 30%. 



The trend toward increased store 

 sales of milk is becoming marked be- 

 cause it affords milk dealers a way of 

 getting milk to consumers at lower 

 prices. An idea of the rapidity of this 

 change in the Chicago area is gained 

 by the recent statement of a Chicago 

 milk dealer representative who said 

 that prior to 1934 85% of all milk sold 



(Continued on pjge 20) 



DECEMBER. 1939 



