New Survey¹ Reveals What Matters to Kids When it Comes to Choosing Milk
School Milk Package Preference Testing was conducted among a sample of 308 school-aged children, grades 4 through 12, in four markets. Each participant was shown a paperboard carton and plastic bottle of the same flavor, graphics, fat level and brand.
- Eighty-three percent (83 percent) of school children said the school milk in the plastic bottle was "better overall" compared to the identical school milk packaged in a paper carton.
- Nearly all (94 percent) school children said that the school milk in the plastic bottle had "the better container."
- Eighty-six percent of school children said that the plastic bottle was "easier to drink from."
- Two-thirds (67 percent) of school children said the plastic bottle was "easier to open" than the paper carton.
- Two-thirds (67 percent) of school children said that the milk in the plastic bottle "had a better flavor" than the milk in the paper carton.
- Students described the milk in the plastic bottle as cool, trendy, stylish, new and fun to drink. They described the paperboard carton as old-fashioned.
- School children were more than twice as likely to say that they would choose milk when it's served in a plastic bottle compared to milk in a paper carton.
- Forty-eight percent (48%) of school children said that they "definitely would buy" the milk in the plastic bottle. Only 20 percent of the school children said that they "would definitely buy" the same product in the paper carton.
- When asked about drink choices at school, about half (51 percent) of school children said they would choose milk over other beverage options when the milk was presented in a plastic bottle. When the milk was presented in a paper carton, only 24 percent of school children said they would choose milk over other options.
¹June 2005 survey of more than 300 school-aged children conducted by Peryam & Kroll Research Corp. on behalf of the National Dairy Council.
