Product and promotion news

• Heluva Good, Sodus, N.Y., has rolled out a new packaging design for its line of sour cream-based dips. The Heluva Good Dips cups have a fresh, vibrant feel, with fun and distinctive packaging that features bright colors, images of the product’s flavorful ingredients and seasonings, as well as a lively new look for the Heluva Good label. The company has also developed a new tagline — “Not Just Good ... Heluva Good!™” — to clearly articulate the brand’s taste proposition. “The Heluva Good packaging reflects an upscale and contemporary design, while remaining true to our brand heritage of family, togetherness and a fun snacking experience,” says Doug Curry, marketing manager for Heluva Good, owned by HP Hood. “We are very excited about the brand repositioning and package redesign, because it adds quality appeal that makes the Heluva Good Dips even more attractive to the consumer.”

• The Wisconsin Dairy Products Association (WDPA) has made a $2,000 donation from the net proceeds of its 2006 World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest and Auction to the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin’s (PDPW) Education Foundation. The PDPW Education Foundation was formed to provide education on key issues impacting the dairy industry, including youth and leadership development, environmental stewardship and biosecurity/food safety. For more information, visit www.wdpa.net.

• Smith Dairy Products Co., Orrville, Ohio, has rolled out its new single-serve and Limited Edition flavors school milk product lines — all in specially designed half-pint plastic packaging with easy-to-open screw-top caps. The company says it decided to energize its school milk product line after National Dairy Council and American School Food Service Association research showed that milk consumption rose dramatically when kids were offered multiple flavors of milk in plastic bottles that were highly visible and readily available in several campus locations and in vending machines so they could drink milk throughout the day. For more information, visit www.smithdairy.com.

• Upstate Farms, Rochester, N.Y., sponsored the 2007 Winter X Games in January to promote its Intense Milks product line. “Our very popular offering of Intense Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry milks was a perfect match for the passion and nutritional needs required at the X Games,” says Mark Serling, director of marketing for Upstate Farms. “The Winter X Games helps us promote the fact that Intense Milks have been proven to replenish during and after workouts better than popular sport drinks. With their unique combination of rich, premium flavor and nine essential nutrients, Intense Milks deliver an indulgent experience while refueling exhausted muscles.”