Our family went to France for a holiday and was shocked to find out that "fresh milk" was hard to find. Some stores did not even carry it! The alternative was to choose from a large selection of UHT milk products (shelf stable) that took up 1/4 of an isle.
When you mention to most Canadians about milk that can sit on the shelf for 9 months, they are unimpressed and very wary to even try it. "What have they added to it to make it last that long?" and "Is it even real milk?" are the statements I am getting from asking my friends. I myself did not know much about it before going to France. The marketers of UHT milk products have a long tough road to push the idea of UHT being real milk and good for you.
Being on the shelf and not in the refrigerated section is the first thing that impedes acceptance. Some retailers/suppliers will try any way to sell their product. I was in No Frills the other day and found a popular sale item Saputo's Neilson's single serve flavoured UHT milk drinks. They were in a large refrigerated cooler and people were frantically buying these as if it was normal pasteurised milk. The expiry date told a different story - good for 8 months!
I wonder how many would have bought it if this was known.