With help from scientists at the Northeast Dairy Foods Research Center (NDFRC), Dairy Management Inc.'s (DMI) research center at Cornell University (Ithaca, N.Y.), the Clarks were able to actualize their concept into a product, Refreshing Power Milk—RPM[tm]. RPM is a calcium-enriched, carbonated beverage made with 100% skim milk and marketed as a refreshing, nutritious beverage to Tweens and parents concerned about their children's calcium intake.
DMI proved valuable in providing funding as well as technical assistance through the NDFRC. Led by Joe Hotchkiss, Ph.D., the team helped Mac Farms save years of trial and error, says George Clark, because DMI's experience, “cut through several years of library and bench research.” There is much information about milk that was within the area of expertise of the scientists at Cornell and DMI. This was knowledge that would have taken the team at Mac Farms years of research to acquire, notes Clark. DMI has six dairy research centers in the U.S. These centers provide support to top dairy researchers, with the latest dairy technologies and information designed to help industry professionals compete and manufacture more effectively.