Awards & Benefits

Applicants will be eligible to compete to receive the following Awards:  

• Up to six (6) finalists will be selected to each receive $10,000 worth of services prior to the Pitch Final.

• This will be used to finalize products for the final event including production, lab time, marketing services, etc.

• Expert mentorship will also be provided by VentureFuel and NYSDPO in areas such as packaging design, pitch preparation, retail insights, raising funds, etc.  

• $150,000 worth of marketing support (some combination of on-pack, instant redeemable coupons, digital coupons, product sampling, in-store signage/marketing) will be awarded to the winner(s) to support the product launch. Other product launch support such as providing trade contacts, category sales reports, and NYSDPO selling materials will be made available. Judges will determine if there is One (1) Grand Prize winner or if the $150,000 final prize pool will be divided among multiple winners. In the event that Judges are split on who the ultimate winner is, NYSDPO may elect to distribute prizing across multiple winners from the Finalist pool. 

• The marketing support must be specifically used for the product entered into the competition and cannot be applied to any pre-existing products that the winning team may also have. The competition is intended to accelerator the winning product only.

• In the event that the winning product is not already produced, in-market, and/or for sale, the prizing may be withheld by The New York Department of Agriculture and Markets until the time that the product is ready for sale. If the product is not for sale within 18 months of completion of the competition, The New York Department of Agriculture and Markets reserves the right to rescind prizing. 

The number of Awards is subject to change at the discretion of the New York State Dairy Promotion Order Board (NYSDPO, the “Administrator”), based on the number of applicants, quality of applications received, involvement and commitment by selected finalists. All recipients of an Award (each, a “Recipient”) will receive mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs and access to business acceleration and incubation support during the period of the Award. Awards are contingent upon and only issued subject to execution of an Award Agreement in the form provided by the Administrator, which will include, but not be limited to, the following provisions:

Reimbursement of Awards

• Recipients of the Finalist award will each receive services up to $10,000, to be paid directly by NYSDPO, including: 

• Production Time 

• Mentor Services

• Marketing: Video Creation Services, Packaging Improvement, Logo Creation, Social Media, Pitch Deck Improvement, and the like

• Lab Time 

• Shipping of the product to Judges

• In addition to the services listed above, winner(s) of the MilkLaunch will receive services up to $150,000 to be paid directly by NYSDPO, including: 

The winner(s) must meet the requirements in the Location & Dairy section above. If at any time they fail to meet such requirements, prizes will be rescinded and awarded to the next runner-up, at the discretion of the Administrator.

The NYSDPO Board advises the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets Commissioner on the disposition of funds collected from milk producers under the producer-approved New York Dairy Promotion Order. The DPO Advisory Board also makes recommendations on promotion and nutrition education programs, and various dairy products and research projects. It is conducting this event to create opportunities for the growth of New York State fluid dairy milk. This contest will be conducted without the use of specific brands or trade names. While applicants may name the product idea or concept, existing brands or trade names are not allowed.