AMPI Rings The “Dinner Bell”

Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI) is well known in the dairy industry, but not as well known in grocery stores. Well that’s about to change. AMPI has created Dinner Bell Creamery and produces butter which can be currently found in Hy-Vee and other local grocery stores. 

Marshall Reece, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at AMPI explains what led them to create this new business and their Co-op Crafted mark.

“AMPI is a farmer-owned dairy cooperative and what we learned is that consumers want to know where their food comes from,” says Reece. “We have a direct link to the raw ingredient milk and that really led us to create Dinner Bell Creamery as a way to tell our story as well as to create the Co-op Crafted mark.”

The Co-op Crafted mark represents farm families coming together as member owners of a cooperative caring for their land and animals and producing nutritious wholesome milk to feed a hungry world. They also have experts that are making their products.

With the pandemic in the rear view mirror, Dinner Bell Creamery has been able to get into different retail locations with their butter. 

Reece adds, “Right now we have one-pound quarters of butter. But we have a lot of opportunities to look at Dinner Bell Creamery expanding into cheese as AMPI is a very large cheese manufacturer.”

They have been receiving great feedback from farmers as they are excited to see a product that they are responsible for making. Consumers are also interested as they are learning more about the importance of farmers and that they are supporting their local farmers.

“We have promotional items on the store shelf that talk about Dinner Bell Creamery being farmer owned,” explains Reece. “When you open one of our butter packages, each quarter stick is wrapped in a flavor wrap that has different “farmhouse rules” or sayings from our dairy farmers. That’s just another way that we can connect the consumers to the farmer and have them really feel good about the product that they’re purchasing.”

Dinner Bell Creamery can be found on Facebook, Instagram, or through their website, where they post recipes and continue to bridge the gap between producers and consumers.