Americans' longstanding love for cheese — and the wider availability of premium natural cheeses at lower price points — spurred growth in the natural and specialty cheese market to sales of $17.4 billion in 2015.
Both adults and children alike eat cheese throughout the day, and Millennnials and Gen Xers are eating more than they were a few years ago. Read our blog post and check out our infographic to learn about the U.S. cheese market.
Consumers Love Cheese
Cheese has a very high penetration rate in the U.S. — nearly 100 percent of American adults say they eat cheese. While nearly 60 percent of adults are eating about the same amount of cheese as they were a few years ago, almost 30 percent are eating more. Due to increasing cheese consumption, U.S. cows are producing more than ever before.
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Consumption of Natural Cheese on the Rise
"Natural" is a general classification for cheese that is made directly from milk, and the cheese-making process consisting of coagulating or curdling the milk, stirring and heating the curd, draining the whey, and collecting or pressing the curd. Consumers continue to be interested in cheeses made from milk they perceive to be better for them, and consumption of natural cheese has increased over the last 10 years.
Similarly, organic cheeses are becoming more popular. Organic cheese is made from organic milk or for milk from herds that are not treated with growth hormones. Sales of organic cheese, as a sub-segment of the natural cheese market, are estimated at $570 million in 2015.
To learn more about the U.S. market for cheese, check out Packaged Facts' report Cheese: Natural and Specialty Cheeses in the U.S. and Global Markets, 6th Edition.
For more information about the dairy industry as a whole, download a free PDF that highlights specific examples of product innovation in the dairy case. Click the button below to learn more.
