‘Tis the season to buy gifts, plan parties and stock up on dairy for holiday treats. Will Thanksgiving and Christmas feel a little less merry this year as inflation looms over the grocery checkout line? On the latest episode of The Dairy Download, we get the holiday outlook from two top dairy leaders.

First up is Chris McCarthy, Vice President of Pricing and Demand Planning at Sargento Foods. From refrigerated snacks to sandwich slices, Sargento’s natural cheese offerings are found at stores across the country. Chris tells us what consumers are buying, and how the company is leaning on promotional activity to encourage sales ahead of the holidays.

Next, we speak with JP Hvizda, Senior Vice President of Retail and Private Brands at Challenge Dairy Products. As is customary, Challenge will do more than a third of its annual butter business during the fourth quarter. How is the company preparing for turkey bastes and cookies for Santa? And what’s behind that viral butter board trend? JP weighs in.


The episode is sponsored by Infor.

"Infor is transforming dairy businesses worldwide with ERP, supply chain, and product lifecycle solutions tailored to fit industry needs. Find out how at infor.com/dairy."

If your company is interested in sponsoring a block of episodes of The Dairy Download, contact IDFA’s Melissa Lembke at mlembke@idfa.org.


 Questions or comments about the show? We want to hear from you. Send a note to dairydownload@idfa.org and your feedback could be included on a future episode.

The Dairy Download is available anywhere you listen to podcasts. Subscribe for free on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora or in your favorite podcast app to automatically receive each new episode, which will publish every other week on Thursday morning.

Witty, fast-moving and stacked with dynamic guests, The Dairy Download offers sharp insights in a neat, 30-minute package. Ever.Ag’s Phil Plourd and Kathleen Wolfley host each episode, leading listeners through a rundown of action in the CME markets and things to watch, while going in depth with guests on consumer, market and policy trends shaping dairy.

Wonks, nerds, data hounds and tech evangelists are welcome. Listeners get the perspectives of various industry experts who can unpack challenging issues in fun and interesting ways.

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