Marketing Considerations for Value-Added Dairy Foods

 

Hand in hand with making a quality product, marketing is the foundation for a successful business. What people want changes over time and it’s important to stay current with consumer trends. Product pricing strategies can be used to achieve different marketing goals and to appeal to consumer perceptions.

 

 

Promotion is everything that is done to make your product and business known to your target consumer markets. Promotion goes beyond just advertising. Promotion must create and convey a consistent image across all promotional activities and communication channels. Consumers make decisions and develop perceptions using label claims. Make sure you are legally allowed to use any certification logos or make product claims on your packaging labels and marketing materials before using them.

 

While it’s easy to focus solely on what’s needed for product processing, don’t forget to take stock of the people, facilities, equipment, and supplies needed for successful marketing. Remember, your marketing activities should drive you toward achieving your overall business goals. 

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.