Page 53 - 2019 Hispanic Market Thought Leaders

2019 HISPANIC THOUGHT LEADERS Presented by HispanicAd.com
W. Stephen James ● Executive Director, California Milk Processor Board
The man best-known as Steve James was an actor for 25 years until he was bitten by the glamor of the dairy industry.
We’re not making this up. James appeared on Broadway, television, and in hundreds of commercials. In 1990, Steve co-founded Ronnybrook Farm Dairy in Columbia County, N.Y., and built a small bottling plant on a 90-cow dairy farm. From there, he began selling milk in glass bottles down south, in New York City. Following an unsuccessful run for Congress in 1996, he joined Suiza Foods, which later
became Dean Foods. In 1998, he became President of Swiss Dairy in Riverside, eventually assuming leadership of the combined operations of Swiss Dairy in Riverside and the former Ross-Swiss distribution operation headquartered in Los Angeles.
This led James to become Executive Director of the California Milk Processor Board in 2007. Steve was Chairman of that organization for almost eight years.
What are some of the ways you and your team embed Multicultural/Hispanic efforts into the fabric of your organization, in order to ensure that the segment is prioritized accordingly?
As someone who was the first to initiate a bilingual label on a carton of Swiss brand milk back in 2002, I am passionate about the importance of addressing Hispanic Americans.
We have worked with the culturally- attuned group of experts at United Collective, led by Gallegos United, to connect with the Multicultural/Hispanic consumers in California for nearly 15 years and partner closely with them. In addition, many of our state’s milk processors individually understand the importance of this market and are not only ensuring they are addressing multicultural consumers, but are also increasingly reflecting that diversity in their organizations.
How important is the Hispanic market for your industry and for your company?
The Hispanic and overall multicultural consumer is critical to the future success of milk in California. We've looked into the numbers, and if we were to simply retain our current levels of consumption with Hispanics but see declines with Non-Hispanic Whites, we could see category growth in California.
The reality for milk and for many other brands is that if you want growth, you need to stop treating Hispanics as a secondary segment, and look at them as your growth segment. This is certainly the approach we are taking in California.