Dairy Does Good: Yogurt Companies Save The World (Ish)

When I told a co-editor that I'd gotten an assignment to write on the philanthropy of various yogurt companies, she said that we should just get a bunch of yogurt and eat it as research. After all, she said, "You know what it's good for!" She glanced left. She glanced right, and seeing all was clear, pointed at her crotch.

Ah, Yogurt, your powers benefit so many -- like my vagina and organic farmers, and Paramount Florence, a 100 pound calf owned by Linda and Doug of the Hart to Hart farm.

No, Paramount Florence isn't fighting off a yeast infection. She's part of the Have-A- Cow program, which pairs people with a cow on one of the family owned, organic dairy farm supported by Stonyfield Farm, to educate them on how farms run and the problems small local farmers face.

Stonyfield Farm isn't the only yogurt company that's been doing some serious good. Yoplait has its Save Lids To Save Lives program -- for every special lid sent in, ten cents goes to the Susan G. Komen center. While Yoplait has promised to give at least $500,000, the number could end up being as much as $1.5 million. The Dannon company has its Dannoncares programs, run through the nonprofit Dannon Institute which aims to improve "your health and well-being by developing and providing funding for nutrition programs" by focusing "its efforts on promoting children's nutrition and fostering the success of leaders in the field of nutrition." They're also major contributors to America's Second Harvest, a national network of food banks,

Yogurt is big business in the U.S. of A, grossing nearly $4 billion dollars a year, organic or otherwise. Its presence in the majority of American homes gives brands the opportunity to highlight issues that are important to each company, whether its sustainable agribusiness, breast cancer, or widespread hunger.

Lids are to yogurt what every square inch of surface space is to a NASCAR car: prime advertising real estate. Explains Stonyfield Farm CEO Gary Hirshberg, "Stonyfield Farm is proud to be a 'word-of-mouth' company built by creating a handshake with the consumer. We reflect their values, and we engage in meaningful dialogue on issues that matter to them and to us. Our lids, mini-billboards allow us to wear our causes on our sleeves or, in this case, on our yogurt cups."

Large brand companies making a name for themselves in activism and philanthropy has become more popular, particularly when that philanthropy and ethic becomes part of the recognizable brand - like in the case of Ben and Jerry's, which continues to push for eco-awareness with programs like "Lick Global Warming" and "Cool Your Jets."

Aligning a brand with a cause creates a relationship between a company and its consumers, giving patrons the comfort of feeling that by using their purchasing power they achieve as much or more as they would by protesting or volunteering.

Hirshberg notes, "Lid messages on our 6 ounce yogurt cups certainly spread the word -- 2 million lids per week, 9 to 10 million lids per month mean a strong consumer impact. We know that these numbers mean that our lids are prime real estate to promote the brand, but we more often promote larger issues like handgun violence, the US farm bill, and the importance of voting."

Sustainable farming, breast cancer research, the health and happiness of Paramount Florence, they're all getting love from the yogurt industry. Other industries should follow suit. Who knows what good the cosmetics industry could do for me and mine.