Choosing the Best Chocolate Milk Brand:

A Feasibility Report

Prepared for
Monica Ng, Professor, TECM 2700

Prepared by
Aziz Alshammry, Kelly Carpenter, Karen Carrasco-Salinas Ryan Harding,
Felix Soto

Table of Contents
Executive Summary....................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Overview ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
Method ......................................................................................................................................................... 5
Results of the Evaluation .............................................................................................................................. 5
Best Tasting Chocolate Milk Brand ........................................................................................................... 6
Calories Per Serving .................................................................................................................................. 7
Daily Value of Calcium .............................................................................................................................. 7
Most Cost Effective Chocolate Milk Brand ............................................................................................... 8
The final results are as follows:................................................................................................................. 8
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 9
Recommendation.......................................................................................................................................... 9
Appendix ..................................................................................................................................................... 10

Executive Summary
Our team investigated which Chocolate Milk is the best based on the four key attributes of the
chocolate milk:

Taste
Calories per serving
Nutritional Value
Cost per 12 ounces

Because there are many brands of chocolate milk, we wanted to determine which brand was the best.
When shoppers buy chocolate they rarely take the time to experiment with the different brands. They
have a brand they always buy and rarely change their habits. With this report shoppers will have a
reliable resource that they can use when making their next trip to the grocery store.
The brands we tested were the following:

Borden
Plains
Nesquik
Shur Fine

We used a weighted score when judging our brands. Taste was the most important factor. Calories per
serving was second followed by Nutritional value. The cost of the chocolates milks was ranked last due
to the closeness in price per ounce.
Our team recommends that consumers choose Bordens Chocolate Milk because it has the superior
taste, least calories, highest nutritional value, and one of the lower prices.

Introduction

Team 1 sought to provide fellow student shoppers with an informative report that chose the best
chocolate milk brand located at their local Sack n Save. At Sack n Save there are four major brands of
chocolate milk available for purchase: Borden, Plain, Nesquik, and Shur Fine. We all seek the best quality
products at the best price, and there is was no definitive source prior to our report that designated
which chocolate milk was the best. The only way to know for sure, would be to buy all the milk brands
and taste them all. However, most college students do not have the budget nor the desire to have four
different containers of chocolate milk in their fridges. This is where Team 1 brought value to the
situation and provided an answer.

Overview
Team tested four different options, or brands, (Borden, Plains, Nesquik, and Shur Fine) based on four
different measures:

Taste
Calories
Daily Value of Calcium
Cost

We used a winner take all method when scoring each brand. Taste was given a score of 4. Calories was
given a score of 3. Daily Value was given a score of 2, and Cost was given a score of 1. We determined
taste was the most important aspect while cost was the least important since the variation in cost was
very small.
Borden received a score of 6 and was considered the winner.

Method
As we tried to come up with most unbiased methods in conducting a survey, we ran the survey
based on, flavor richness to poorness, daily calcium intake in each of the four products, along
with calories per serving. After the survey was done, we inform test takers the cost of each of
these products and asked them again which products they are in favor, we used these values as
they are common values for buyers and people of interest. We used four common brands
found in the local Sack n Save:

Borden
Plains
Nesquik
Shur Fine

The pointing system was worth for points for taste, three points for calories, two points for
daily value of calcium, and one point for cost. The scoring system is based on ratio of interest
for each costumer to avoid the larger subcategory of customers and focus on what really
matters for the common student shopper, where the highest was taste and calories per serving.
Blind taste test were performed to determine which brand was the tastiest. Team 1 created 10
samples of the four brands for an unbiased taster to taste. One taster would taste each brand,
and each brand was given a label of A, B, C, or D and were told to pick their favorite sample.
When determining the calories per serving and daily values for calcium, we used the Nutrition
Facts on the label of the brand. Brands were evaluated on the amount of calories per serving,
with lower values scoring higher. Brands with a higher daily value of calcium were evaluated on
the basis of concentration of calcium.

Results of the Evaluation

To determine the feasibility of choosing which brand of chocolate milk is best, we evaluated 4 options
according to the criteria of taste, cost, daily value (dv) of calcium, and calories per serving.

Best Tasting Chocolate Milk Brand

Blind Taste Test

Borden's

Plains

Nesquik

Shur Fine

Option 1: Borden was favored by 50 percent of the population studied. Option 2: Plains was favored by
30 percent of the population studied. Option 3: Nesquik was favored by 10 percent of the population
studied. Option 4: Shur Fine was favored by 10 percent of the population studied.
Option 1: Borden Chocolate Milk
Borden Chocolate milk was favored by 50 percent of the studied population in a blind taste test. With
Option 1 winning the taste test, it was awarded 4 points in a winner take all system.
Option 2: Plains Chocolate Milk
Plains Chocolate milk was favored by 30 percent of the population, coming in second place in the blind
taste test.
Option 3: Nesquik Chocolate Milk
Nesquik Chocolate Milk was only favored by 10 percent of the population, tying for the worst tasting
brand of chocolate milk.
Option 4: Shur Fine
Shur Fine Chocolate Milk was only favored by 10 percent of the population as well, tying for worst
tasting brand of chocolate milk.
The winner of the blind taste test was Borden, giving it a score of 4.

Calories Per Serving

Option 3 (Nesquik Chocolate Milk) and Option 1 (Borden Chocolate Milk) had the lowest calories per
serving. The winner of this category revieved 3 points in the Winner-Take-All point system.
Option 1: Borden Chocolate Milk
Borden Chocolate Milk had 190 calories per serving, ranking in second in terms of lowest calories per
serving.
Option 2: Plains Chocolate Milk
Plains Chocolate Milk had 330, ranking in fourth in terms of lowest calories per serving.
Option 3: Nesquik Chocolate Milk
Nesquik Chocolate Milk had 150 calories per serving, ranking in first in terms of lowest calories.
Option 4: Shur Fine Chocolate Milk
Shur Fine Chocolate Milk had 220 calories per serving, ranking third in terms of lowest calories.
The winner of this category was Nesquik, giving nesquik 3 points.

Daily Value of Calcium

Options 1 (Borden Chocolate Milk) and Option 2 (Plains Chocolate Milk) will provide the most calcium
recommended for daily value. The winner of this category received 2 points in a Winner-Take-All point
system.
Option 1: Borden Chocolate Milk
Borden Chocolate milk had a dv of 45%, ranking in first in terms of daily value of calcium.
Option 2: Plains Chocolate Milk
Plains Chocolate Milk had a dv of 40%, ranking second in terms of daily value of calcium.
Option 3: Nesquik Chocolate Milk
Nesquik Chocolate Milk had a dv of 35%, ranking in third in terms of daily value of calcium.
Option 4: Shur Fine Chocolate Milk
Shur Fine Chocolate Milk had a dv of 30%, ranking in fourth in terms of daily value of calcium.
The winner of this category was Borden adding 2 points to its current total of 4.

Most Cost Effective Chocolate Milk Brand

BORDEN

PLAINS

1.28

1.39

1.59

1.84

PRICE OF CHOCOLATE MILK

Price

NESQUIK

SHUR FINE

Option 3 was the cheapest brand of chocolate milk. Option 2 was the next cheapest brand. Option 3 was
the third cheapest brand. Option 4 was the most expensive brand. In the Winner-Takes-All point system
the winner of this category received 1 point based on the conclusion that the cost of the various brands
of milk were not significantly higher or lower than eachother.
Option 1: Borden Chocolate Milk
Borden Chocolate milk was priced at $1.59, ranking in third to highest in cost of product.
Option 2: Plains Chocolate Milk
Plains Chocolate milk was priced at $1.39, Coming in second as the cheapest chocolate milk.
Option 3; Nesquik Chocolate Milk
Nesquik Chocolate Milk was priced at $1.28, which was the cheapest of the four brands tested.
Option 4: Shur Fine Chocolate Milk
Shur fine Chocolate Milk was priced at 1.84, being the most expensive brand of chocolate milk.
The winner of this category was Nesquik, giving this brand a final score of 4.

The final results are as follows:

Bordens

6 Points

Nesquik

4 Points

Plains

0 Points

Shur Fine

0 Points

Conclusion
Each of the four options each had its own advantages and disadvantages. If youre seeking a brand that
taste the best and has a high Daily Value of calcium, Borden is the brand you need. If youre looking for
the cheapest brand, Nesquik and Plains are cheap alternatives. Shur Fine failed to compete with the
other brands because it had the lowest nutritional value while also being the most expensive.

Recommendation
Team 1 recommends that student shoppers pick Borden. Borden has the superior taste and also has the
highest daily value of calcium. Students will get the best bang for their shopping dollars if they purchase
Bordens chocolate milk.

Appendix
For the Blind taste test we instructed our testers to circle the corresponding letter that represented
their favorite brand of Chocolate Milk.

Help us choose the best flavor! Circle the letter that

corresponds to cup that you think has the best Flavor!
A
B
C
D