Cow Wow, the brainchild of LA-based former advertising executive Christopher Pouy, was touted as a “perfect breakfast replacement for kids” when USDA-certified organic Chocolate Chip Cathy and Fruity Trudy variations hit shelves in 2013.
Pouy, founder and president, Cow Wow Cereal Milk, soon discovered, however, that it was “very difficult to educate mom that a regular glass of milk has 12 grams of sugar from lactose.”
“…so when they read there’s 18 to 20 grams of sugar they think it’s all from the ingredients that we added," Pouy told DairyReporter.com.
“Mom is also the most frugal of all shoppers and no matter how much better Cow Wow tastes than other flavored milks, it was hard to get them to spend an extra 20 cents.”
College students, however, don’t have the same qualms, he said.
“...we got into a few colleges and starting selling the way I always hoped it would. I went and visited the cafeteria and saw one kid buy all three flavors at once. I guess it’s been so long since I was in school, I forgot how vital cereal was to my existence.”
In response, Pouy is relaunching the Cow Wow range to appeal to adults that refuse to grow up.
Cow Wow “aged up”
It has “aged up” the overall design of its range by making its carton cows “a little cooler” and increasing the size of its cartons.
Despite getting “a kick out of seeing grown men drinking milk out of a tiny plastic tube” the current carton and straw format has been replaced with a screw top carton.
“We also improved our flavors and gave them new names like Booyah Berry, Cocoa Loco, Cinna Munch and Shake ‘n Flake,” he said.
Pouy believes these changes will allow it to better appeal to adults, like himself, that get nostalgic about breakfast cereal.
“I think as we get older society tells us to stop playing with action figures, reading comic books, and even drinking milk,” he said.
"The cereals I grew up with are not as popular as they once were, but there is still that nostalgia there for me. I would eat Fruit Loops for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I could, and the milk at the bottom of the bowl is the nectar of the cereal gods."
“I think there are a lot of people out there who miss milk…people who would rather see Guardians of the Galaxy than 12 Years a Slave. Girls with fridges of half-eaten red velvet cupcakes. Guys who play Call of Duty while their girlfriends….actually they don’t have girlfriends. You know, man children.”
"Shake things up"
Since the brand's 2013 launch, Pouy has secured listing for Cow Wow flavored milk in over 900 stores across the US, including Kroger outlets.
“We still have some of the other product so we’ll continue to sell that nationally in Kroger for the rest of the year as well as in some high schools, but the new batch should be ready in about four to six weeks,” he said.
Looking ahead, Pouy hopes believes the Cow Wow brand can "completely redefine the way people think about milk."
“I know we’re just a small company from LA taking on the Goliath’s of the dairy industry, but I think it’s going to take something like Cow Wow to shake things up.”
“We’re small, creative, fun, fearless, and can turn on a dime. I want to disrupt convention, shift the conversation and make milk fun again. To be honest the chips are stacked against us, but if we fail we’re going to fail gloriously," Pouy added.