Model Dairy tests new milk products in Reno area

Sandra Chereb

Friday, May 21, 1999 | 5:06 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - Milk trucks will be cruising Reno-area neighborhoods Saturday, giving away free samples of new milk products from Model Dairy.

Fourteen trucks will be making the rounds, giving away 50,000, three-container sample packs of Kidsmilk, Fitmilk and Lifemilk.

"This will be the first rollout of the products nationwide," Model Dairy President Kelly Kading said Friday.

"It will only be available in the Reno and Carson City area," Kading said. "Depending on how the product goes, the acceleration could go into another market place."

Samples will also be given away at various grocery stores throughout the weekend in Reno, Sparks, Carson City and Gardnerville.

All three products - Kidsmilk, Fitmilk and Lifemilk - have added calcium. The company said each eight-ounce glass contains 500 milligrams of calcium, or half the recommended daily value.

Kidsmilk is a 2 percent reduced-fat milk fortified with 14 other nutrients considered essential to child development, Model Dairy said.

Fitmilk is fat free, but with a creamier consistency comparable to 2 percent milk.

Lifemilk, a 1 percent lowfat milk, has higher amounts of phosphorus, magnesium and potassium than found in whole milk, Model Dairy said.

Kading said other companies add calcium to their products, "but this is a first with other added nutrients."

The milk will retail for around $3.10 to $3.49 for a 114-ounce container, Kading said. That's 14-ounces less than a gallon and more expensive than a gallon of regular milk.

Model Dairy has been in business since 1906. It became a subsidiary of Dallas-based Suiza Foods Corp. in 1996 but has retained its strong Nevada ties.

"All of our milk comes from Nevada cows," Klading said, noting that most of its producers are in the Fallon area.

The company's products are distributed in Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming and Arizona.