Since its debut in April 2024, Dairy MAX’s Fortnite Farm Tycoon map has successfully sold over 400,000 pounds of milk through its innovative blend of ecommerce and gaming. As youth gaming reaches unprecedented levels, this virtual environment allows players to immerse themselves in the world of dairy farming, giving them hands-on experiences in managing a farm, making agricultural decisions and learning about the importance of dairy farming in a fun, interactive setting.
The Farm Tycoon experience allows players to build and manage their own farm for success, claiming plots, upgrading infrastructure and engaging in activities that simulate real-world farm operations. In addition, facts are woven throughout the map, allowing players to learn insights about dairy, farm life and agriculture. Through strategic gameplay, players earn in-game currency and experience points to enhance their farm’s productivity.
“Farm Tycoon was designed to build trust in dairy among a younger, digitally engaged audience, teaching them about nutrition and agriculture in a way that is interesting and relevant to this audience,” said Essence Riley, vice president of business development at Dairy MAX. “It’s crucial that the next generation understands the role of dairy in sustainable nutrition and agriculture, and Farm Tycoon is a great vehicle for that education.”
Several Fortnite influencers partnered with Dairy MAX to boost engagement of the Farm Tycoon World by sharing the Farm Tycoon’s cinematic trailer, live streaming themselves playing the game and sharing their live stream clips on social media. The influencers snacked on dairy foods like cheese, yogurt, ice cream and milk while engaging their followers and directing them to a Level Unlocked Instacart page where they could directly purchase these foods.
Since its debut this spring, Farm Tycoon has seen remarkable success including:
- 189,000+ total plays: Farm Tycoon exceeded industry benchmarks, with the gaming industry standard being between 50,000 to 100,000 plays. In July, the Farm Tycoon map was added to the “Epic Picks” category in Fortnite, which resulted in new plays for the game and surpassed the Dairy MAX goal set of reaching 100,000 plays.
- Average playtime of 27 to 32 minutes: significantly above the industry average playtime of 15 minutes, reflecting high engagement and interest.
- 18 million impressions: the map has reached millions of potential players, driving awareness about dairy.
- 2,000+ Discord members: a community social platform used by gamers for communicating with friends and groups of people. Level Unlocked is a Dairy MAX brand designed to connect with youth in virtual spaces and a Level Unlocked-specificDiscord debuted this year where gamers can discuss agriculture and dairy facts via text messaging, voice chats or video calls.
- 33,000 total engagements: gamers are interacting with the map’s educational messages about dairy, farm life and sustainability.
- Stream hours watched: 72,000 hours of gameplay watched, increasing exposure to dairy farming and nutrition.
- Significant sales impact: $1.5 million total sales and 462,000 incremental milk pounds sold. Additionally, the map has seen a $15 return on ad spend, which is marketing metric that measures how much revenue is earned for every dollar spent on advertising.
Additionally, the Farm Tycoon world has become an educational tool through efforts made by the Dairy MAX School Marketing team, incorporating it in their programs with school districts and allowing students to engage with dairy farming, agriculture and sustainability through interactive learning experiences.
Dairy MAX’s Farm Tycoon is just one initiative in the broader strategy to bring dairy into the everyday lives of youth through gaming and digital platforms. Dairy MAX remains committed to supporting dairy farmers by engaging the next generation with positive and educational messages about dairy farming and the essential role of dairy in a healthy, sustainable diet.
For more information about Farm Tycoon and Dairy MAX’s ongoing efforts to connect with youth audiences, visit LevelUnlocked.com.
