The Milk Processor Education Program's "Refuel with Chocolate Milk" Campaign has received a prestigious Dairy Innovation Award, taking top honors for best dairy health initiative. The awards, sponsored by Tate & Lyle, provide a platform to demonstrate the global dairy industry's continued commitment to innovation. The winners in eight categories were announced during the Global Dairy Congress last week in Oslo, Norway. 

"We're delighted to be recognized with this award," said Vivien Godfrey, MilkPEP CEO. "I'd like to thank two senior managers on our team – Donna Armstrong and Miranda Abney – for their help in earning the award for MilkPEP. Donna crafted a persuasive entry description and compiled excellent photos for the judges, and Miranda has done a stellar job running the Refuel initiative for MilkPEP."

Refueling Since 2006

MilkPEP has promoted refueling with chocolate milk since 2006 when Joel Strager, Ph.D., Indiana University-Bloomington, published a study reinforcing that chocolate milk helps athletes refuel and rebuild muscles after strenuous exercise. Strager's findings helped to establish a new occasion for drinking chocolate milk and an opportunity to increase sales.

To educate adults about the benefits of milk after exercise and to encourage athletes to rethink their post-exercise recovery regimen, MilkPEP developed the Refuel with Chocolate Milk mobile tour last year. The tour visited large endurance sporting events to promote the powerful research behind the recovery benefits of chocolate milk. It also allowed processors to engage with athletes and generate broader awareness and excitement for chocolate milk as a recovery beverage after strenuous exercise.

Two Refuel with Chocolate Milk trucks traveled across the country, creating interactive zones at or near the finish lines of 125 high-profile sporting events. Event spectators also explored the Refuel zones, taking Milk Mustache photos, sampling chocolate milk and learning tips about chocolate milk and recovery.

The tour drove millions of media impressions and encouraged hundreds of thousands of consumers to engage. It increased exposure for local processor groups through branding and milk sampling and helped dairy brands develop their own Refuel strategies.

For more information, contact Armstrong at darmstrong@milkpep.org or Abney at mabney@milkpep.org.