Successfully marketing dairy products to meet consumer wants and needs is not as cut-and-dry as it used to be. One big reason is that consumers’ attitudes about what they expect out of dairy products today, and the companies that sell those products, are changing.

Sustainability and sustainable packaging (SP) have not only survived the recession, but also have thrived. As a result, I think we can say this is not a fad but a legitimate trend.

Oh the word games and buzzwords we seem unable to do without. In only a few short years, we’ve gone from “green logistics” to “sustainable logistics.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that manufacturers in the United States spend about $100 billion a year on energy costs.

In my April 2010 column, “Who is the Weakest Link in the Food Chain?,” I made the point that suppliers could unintentionally defeat all the food safety and quality programs put in place by dairy plants.

Protein is getting a fresh look in nutrition circles and it’s catching on with consumers.

“Thank you, partners.” Those are the words that Organic Valley’s CEO George Siemon and his management team spoke when we visited them last fall to prepare our 2010 Processor of the Year story (December’s cover story).

This time of year, it’s good to reflect on where we’ve been, where we’re going and what we wish for in the future.

Though I’ve been editing magazines for many years, the arrival of a new issue still excites me. It’s like receiving a birthday or Christmas present every month. Each issue of Dairy Foods is packed with information you can act on. Here is a sample of what we’ve delivered in the last 12 months.

At a meeting of the Dairy Practices Council in Columbus, Ohio, Matt McKnight, vice president, market access and regulatory affairs of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, made a strong point about the opportunities for the U.S. dairy industry to expand the 5% to 10% (depending on the year) dairy export volume to the world.