The “24/24 Milk Your Diet. Lose Weight!” initiative has gone bilingual — what a great way to further reach consumers in the largest and fastest-growing U.S. minority group about the healthful benefits of dairy.

Following up on local Hispanic-based initiatives, the national “got milk?” campaign has launched its first Spanish-language Web site, www.2424leche.com. The site provides users with the most up-to-date information on milk’s benefits and includes several interactive features to make learning about milk fun while helping fight the battle against obesity.

Offering resources to educate the Hispanic community on why it’s important to include 24 ounces of milk every 24 hours as part of a healthy diet, the site includes information from recent studies that suggest a connection between consumption of lowfat or fat-free milk and weight management when coupled with a reduced-calorie, lowfat diet.

For those looking to achieve and maintain a healthy weight, the site also provides a body-mass calculator and recipes that help consumers find ways to include milk in their daily diet.

“The launch of 2424leche.com will help educate Hispanic moms and their families about milk’s new role in keeping their weight under control by including the recommended 24 ounces of milk every 24 hours through fun recipes and health tips, while providing nutritional information to encourage their families to continue to drink milk as a means to stay healthy,” says Kurt Graetzer, chief executive officer of the California Milk Processor Board (CMPB).

The CMPB, established in 1993 to make milk more competitive and increase milk consumption in California, has long examined consumption and cooking habits among Hispanic consumers. While the trademarked “got milk?” campaign has been licensed nationally since 1995, a separate Spanish-language campaign has been running in California since 1994.

The goal of the multifaceted National Milk Mustache “got milk?” campaign is to educate consumers on the benefits of milk and to boost consumption. The CMPB has also created Spanish-oriented advertising programs for nearly a decade and continues to use Spanish and bilingual communica­tions. MilkPEP picked up California’s “got milk?” campaign several years ago, and started Spanish-language ads in 2001.

MilkPEP’s primary strategy is promoting milk’s role in weight loss. Last spring MilkPEP launched the “24/24 Milk Your Diet. Lose Weight!” initiative, which includes public relations, advertising and promotional efforts.

With the prominence of dairy products in Hispanic cuisine, stepping up Web-based efforts to further enhance the community’s knowledge of the nutrition behind milk seems like the perfect marketing move.