Dairy Milk: The comeback kid that never left

By Meta Hemenway-Forbes, Hansen’s Dairy Marketing Manager

Milk is NOT weird. There. We said it.

OK, so maybe Great the cow is a little weird, but her milk certainly isn’t.

Naturally, we keep an eye out for news about dairy milk. So this February headline from the New York Times certainly grabbed our attention: “Got Weird? Milk Is Headed for Its Strangest Year Yet.”

The story’s focus is the “weird” and “unlikely comeback” of dairy milk. “Milk is back in nutritional favor, as Americans’ priorities have shifted toward hydration, protein and healthy fats,” it reads.

Nutritional powerhouse

Dairy milk is back? That’s weird. Because it never left. Milk is a time-tested staple. It’s the nutritional OG. (Original Gangster or Old Guard, depending on your age.)

For generations, milk has been the unsung hero of the fridge. The silent champion behind childhood growth spurts. The backbone of morning cereal. The frothy foundation of your favorite latte. Yet somehow, time and again, dairy milk has found itself on the defensive.

Whole milk had too much fat. Skim didn’t have enough. Then dairy milk as a whole got the cold shoulder as plant-based alternatives muscled their way onto grocery shelves. Suddenly, dairy milk was the old-school option that didn’t quite fit in with the new cool kids.

But here’s the thing — milk never changed. Louder for the people in the back? MILK. NEVER. CHANGED. The pendulum of consumer habits swung wildly, but milk? Milk just stayed there, waiting, steadfast in its nutritional power with no need to prove itself. 

Dairy milk isn’t fickle

Apple Snapple gets a little salty if you say dairy milk’s “comeback” is “weird.”

Look, we don’t disparage alternative milk products. That’s not who we are. You do you, as the kids say. But dairy milk? It stands tall and timeless in its unmatched nutrition profile. Protein-packed, calcium-rich and loaded with essential vitamins, it’s the real deal. A big stepper. Ten toes in and standing on business (as the coolest kids say).

Trends come and go, but dairy milk isn’t fickle like that. It doesn’t reinvent itself every few years to stay relevant. As nature’s most perfect food, it doesn’t have to. It’s a no-nonsense classic.

Dairy milk is good for you. Always has been. Always will be. Don’t make it weird.