Got milk? Gen Z says 'Nope.' Coffee drinks, water, nut milks and Gatorade and have moooved in

Taylor Swift's 'Got Milk' mustache from 2012 (YouTube)

Things Gen Zers do: Go to brunch (a lot! and pay with Venmo), follow Scrub Daddy on TikTok, and diss anything that takes more than 60 seconds. But they're not into drinking cow's milk. This group of "teenagers and young adults grew up ordering milk alternatives at coffee shops and toting water bottles everywhere," reports Kim Severson of The New York Times. "Turned off by the no-fat and low-fat milks served at school, worried about climate change and steeped in the increasing skepticism toward the dairy industry on social media, many of them have never embraced milk. Last year, members of Generation Z bought 20 percent less milk than the national average, according to the consumer market research company Circana. . . . Dairy milk's real competition is other beverages, like bottled and tap water and specialty coffee drinks."

The dairy industry took notice and "has embarked on a full-frontal marketing assault intended to do what the 'Got Milk?' mustaches on celebrities like Taylor Swift and Dennis Rodman did for previous generations. Yin Woon Rani, the chief executive of the Milk Processor Education Program, a marketing and education arm of the dairy industry, told Severson, "We have to reclaim milk's mojo." To reclaim said mojo, Severson reports, "Marketers are trying to reboot milk as a sports drink for Generation Z. . . . Although the science about milk's health benefits and drawbacks isn't settled, some studies have shown that chocolate milk contains basic electrolytes and a precise ratio of carbohydrates to protein that can help muscles recover after workouts."

There are several parts to dairy's big push. The MPEP began the "26.2 project, an ambitious effort to provide training, gear, advice and other support to every woman who runs a marathon in the United States this year," Severson reports. Women who join the program are featured on the Gonna Need Milk website and get to join #TeamMilk. . . . Dairy is also making a play for gamers. Dairy Management Inc., a trade organization, hired the gaming superstars Preston Arsement and Jimmy Donaldson to introduce seven new cows to Minecraft. The two streaming celebrities heaped love on the nation's dairy farmers and explained sustainable dairy-farming practices."

Milk is big but has lots of competition." Some have turned to nut milks and other plant-based alternatives, whose sales are expected to grow by more than 9 percent a year through 2027, far faster than milk." Severson reports. Maybe the mojo is key since nut milks aren't the real problem for dairy. Curt Covington, senior director of partner relations at AgAmerica, an agricultural lender, told Severson, "People come to work with a Gatorade or a Coke in one hand and a Starbucks cold brew drink in the other. . . . It has clearly taken away from the milk sector." Severson adds, "All this is not to say that young people don’t eat plenty of cheese, yogurt and ice cream."