• by Sarah Mahoney , Yesterday

 
Organic cows lead a pretty luxe life. Over the years, Stonyfield Organics farm execs have found lots of that pampering sweetly amusing -- the way some of the 150 farms the company works with install giant brushes in fields, so cows can rub up against them, for example, or use essential oils to keep their hooves healthy.

“Cows need to spend more than 120 days out in the pasture to be organic,” says Kristina Drociak, director of PR and consumer engagement for Stonyfield. “With all that movement, they end up needing more preventative care, like making sure their feet are in tip-top shape.”

That got the team thinking that there’s a “really sweet, playful metaphor here between the special care that the cows get on organic farms and human wellness.”

The result? The Organic Cow Spa, a real-life spa offering people the chance to indulge in some of those bovine luxuries.

Priced at $120 -- to focus attention on the 120-day rule -- each visit to the spa includes cow cuddle sessions. (Pure PR for the brand? Probably, but the company points out that interactions with animals promote feelings of happiness and reduce stress, and really, who needs more horrible spa music?)

It also offers Massage + Peppermint Aromatherapy, inspired by the grooming, brushing and peppermint essential oils used at some Stonyfield direct supply farms. Then there’s the Pasture Pedicure + Foot Soak, for human hoof care, and an amble along the Meditation Trail, where now-relaxed visitors can soak in the fresh air and open spaces the cows enjoy.

Finally, there’s some Green Graze Juice, acknowledging the healthy plants cows munch on all day long.

The event, timed to National Organic Month, is set to run from Sept. 10 through Oct. 3, at Rainbow Valley Farm in Maine.

For Stonyfield, based in Londonderry, New Hampshire, and owned by Lactalis, it’s an opportunity to show people what organic dairy farming looks like, from pasture to finished product. “We want people to think about food in a much deeper way,” Drociak says. “We want them to experience what it's like to be an organic cow.”

While younger consumers especially are more likely to buy organic yogurt, there’s still plenty of room to grow. Many will buy organic milk, but not yogurt, she says, or organic products for kids -- but not themselves.

Right now, much of the buzz in the yogurt business is about protein enrichment, particularly from rival brand Oikos. And while that’s an area Stonyfield feels competitive in, particularly with its sister brand, Siggi’s, it wanted to shine a brighter light on organics.

Drociak says the brand will evaluate the success of the spa by the kinds of conversations it starts, “about what organic farming means. If we feel this successfully starts those conversations, we would definitely consider doing it again.”