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Square Gallon Milk Jugs Reshaping Dairy Industry

The New York Times

The square milk jugs have started appearing in Sam's Clubs nationwide, such as in Canton, Ohio, where Amy Wise shops.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 1, 2008

TAMPA - The face of milk has changed, at least in the bulk supply warehouses in the Tampa Bay area and other areas across the nation.

The square-shaped gallon is replacing the comfy-looking gallon jugs. The repackaging represents a change that is designed to save money, Sam's Club officials say. They say the new model is like when milk packagers went from glass bottles to cardboard and plastic cartons in the 1950s and 1960s.

The packaging has put flatter spouts on jugs, making for easier and more-efficient stacking, which saves space in coolers and on trucks. The new jugs mean more milk can be put onto a truck. Sam's Club officials say a typical truck can carry 9 percent more milk in square jugs, which is equal to 4,704 gallons, or an additional 384 gallons.

"This is an exciting change for Sam's Club members and the dairy industry," Heather Mayo, vice president of merchandising with Sam's Club, said in a prepared statement issued earlier this week.

The cost of producing a gallon of milk also dropped, Sam's Club officials said, and those savings, between 10 and 20 cents each, are being passed on to the customer.

Sam's Club is offering the square jugs in 189 stores, including all those in Florida and across most of the Southeast, Sam's Club spokeswoman Kristy Reed said.

She said the square jugs are also available in Michigan, Nevada and Ohio.

"We're pretty excited about out new milk jugs," she said.

Joe Wright, president of Southeast Milk, a cooperative which includes more than 200 member dairies, said the bulk warehouse stores, including Sam's Club and Cosco wanted a change in the way their milk was packaged. The outlets wanted jugs that could be stacked and transported without having to deal with plastic or metal crates.

"They wanted to get away from the crates," Wright said. Square jugs are "a more efficient way, for the warehouse stores, to distribute milk."

With the new design, pallets of milk jugs are wrapped in plastic sheets and shipped, he said. There are no more crates to store, he said. Crates also added to the weight of shipped milk, he said.

"For us, in the dairy business," he said, "the crates are a pain in the neck. They disappear or are stolen. I don't know how many college kids have them in their dorm rooms."

The square jugs are now only being shipped to warehouse retail outlets, he said, but eventually, they may become the norm in grocery and convenience stores.

"We've actually talked to some convenience stores about it," he said. "They see an attraction to it; an advantage to it. Milk crates are a pain for them too."

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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