Was Dairy Farmers’ permeate-free a success?

Before Dairy Farmers launched their permeate-free campaign, most consumers didn’t know (or care) about permeate.

So when the campaign first aired (followed by the exposé on A Current Affair), I’m sure the entire design, marketing and dairy industries were poised – watching the supermarket shelves to see how long it took for competitors to respond. And to no surprise, the biggest players in the milk market (Woolies and Coles) confirmed that their private-label products would become permeate-free. And they sure didn’t disappoint.

Label printers in Australia must have made record profits in the following months, because it didn’t take long before numerous brands were all milking the frenzy.

What’s the benefit to Dairy Farmers?

• They knew some competitors were likely to copy because Dairy Farmers didn’t own a long-term monopoly and couldn’t patent the process of making permeate-free milk, which in fact simplifies production
• They admit that permeate isn’t bad because even though it’s a watery by-product it’s natural, reduces costs, removes the need to dispose of it, and the Dairy Farmers website even states this clearly
• The campaign would have been expensive because producing a high-quality TVC and airing it on numerous channels (including prime time) costs a lot, while competitors selling permeate-free milk benefited from the education campaign and only paid for new labels

So given the above points, was there really any benefit to their shareholders or their brand?

Absolutely.

• They were first to market and for a short period effectively owned it because there were no well-known competitors making the same claim
• Even though they’ve been copied some consumers will still see them as market leaders and assume by inference that it’s the best product on the market
• The media coverage of their campaign (and the permeate debate in general) has exposed their brand to millions
• They’ve justified why their permeate-free milk is more expensive

What’s the benefit to consumers?

You could probably say it’s the right to choice. Now most consumers know about permeate, and they can decide what they prefer.

I’m hopeful that somehow it will result in full disclosure on all labels. Not just the marketing spin of “permeate-free”, but milk manufacturers having to disclose what percentage of permeate they re-add.

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