California milk board offers big bucks for snacks

  • 5 August 2020
US trade organisation Real California Milk has teamed up with VentureFuel to give away $450,000 in awards to dairy start-ups
Real California Milk display of products
Photo as seen on Real California Milk Facebook page

The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) today launched its Real California Milk Snackcelerator, a dairy product innovation competition intended to inspire new ideas for California dairy products. Through the Snackcelerator, the CMAB is giving away up to $450,000 in awards.

The CMAB is one of the largest agricultural marketing boards in the US. It executes advertising, public relations, research, and retail and foodservice promotional programmes on behalf of California dairy products that carry the Real California Milk seal.

CMAB claims the competition has been designed to help it tap into the global snack food category, a market the organisation values at $605 billion.

The CMAB is seeking high-growth potential snack product concepts, with cow’s milk as the first ingredient and making up at least 50% of the formula.

Competing start-ups must commit to producing the product in California, using milk from the state’s dairy farms if they win the competition.

Up to eight start-ups will receive $10,000 worth of support each to develop an edible prototype, while receiving help including graphic design, lab or kitchen time, and advice from global marketing, packaging, and distribution experts.

They will also receive a business development trip – or virtual equivalent – to tour dairy farms and production facilities and to meet with industry personnel.

The winner will receive up to $200,000 worth of additional support to introduce their new product to market.

Dairy products accelerator

This is the second year this event has been held – last year nine milk start-up finalists took part in a live pitch event.

The 2019 winner, Bears Nutrition, will launch its ready-to-drink milk-based nutritional shakes for children at retail test markets this autumn along with its companion ‘Immunity Nourishment’ and ‘Brain Booster’ milk powder-based nutritional shake mixes online.

“Dairy and snacking are natural partners,” said CMAB chief executive John Talbot. “Not only do dairy foods make the perfect snack on their own, but the flavour, nutritional profile, and functionality of milk and other dairy products as ingredients are also hard to duplicate.”

Talbot noted that consumers look for snacking options with natural ingredients that deliver something extra – whether a specific flavour profile or a boost of quality protein or other essential nutrients.

“Product developers appreciate what dairy brings to the table,” he said. “The goal of this competition is to tap into our global obsession with snacking to inspire new ideas and help clear the hurdles of bringing these products to market.”

Corporate innovation consultancy VentureFuel, a New York-based company, is again partnering with CMAB to run the programme and to identify opportunities from its global network of investors, founders and academics.

“Our first programme with CMAB proved the value of marrying innovation and dairy as we were able to bring delicious and diverse products to market quickly while providing founders unprecedented mentorship and access to accelerate their success,” said Fred Schonenberg, VentureFuel founder.

“CMAB’s continued commitment to product innovation now will inspire great new snacks for consumers to enjoy and further increase the demand for California dairy,” he concluded.