Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Definition
Executive Summary
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- The issues
- Solid growth slows temporarily on dairy price fluctuations
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- Figure 1: Total US sales and fan chart forecast of cheese, at current prices, 2011-21
- Cheese consumption near universal
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- Figure 2: Frequency of cheese consumption, by type, July 2016
- Beyond sandwiches, a wide array of uses for natural cheese
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- Figure 3: Natural cheese use occasions, July 2016
- The opportunities
- Opportunity to promote use occasions among young adults
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- Figure 4: Natural cheese use occasions, by age, July 2016
- Young adults more likely to focus on organic, protein content
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- Figure 5: Natural cheese purchase considerations, by age, July 2016
- Creating a more engaging cheese shopping experience
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- Figure 6: Attitudes toward cheese, interest in flavors and information – Agree strongly, by age, July 2016
- What it means
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Solid growth slows temporarily on dairy price fluctuations
- Natural cheese dominates sales, drives growth
- Slow, steady growth for cream cheese
Market Size and Forecast
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- Solid growth slows temporarily on dairy price fluctuations
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- Figure 7: Total US sales and fan chart forecast of cheese, at current prices, 2011-21
- Figure 8: Total US sales of cheese, at current prices, 2011-21
Market Breakdown
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- Natural cheese dominates sales, drives growth
- Slow, steady growth for cream cheese
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- Figure 9: Total US sales of cheese, by segment share, 2016
- Figure 10: Total US sales of cheese, by segment, 2011-16
Market Factors
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- Cheese well-positioned to take advantage of increase in snacking
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- Figure 11: Daily snacking frequency, January 2015
- Cheese protein content in line with healthy eating priorities
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- Figure 12: Seeking in better-for-you foods, June 2016
- Core user groups growing
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- Figure 13: Households, by presence of own children, 2003-14
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- Figure 14: Population by race and Hispanic origin, 2011-21
- Fluctuation in dairy commodity prices impacts retail market
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- Figure 15: Natural cheese MULO sales growth rate, dollars vs volume, 2012-16
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Store brands and Kraft lead category but see share slip
- Sliced form a key growth platform for natural cheese
Company Sales of Cheese
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- Store brands and Kraft lead category but see share slip
- Company sales of cheese
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- Figure 16: Company MULO sales of cheese, 2015 and 2016
What’s Working
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- Sliced form a key growth platform for natural cheese
- Mini Babybel rides wave of interest in healthy snacking
- Smaller competitors gain ground by promising quality, variety
- Philadelphia cream cheese: Ongoing effort to keep an old brand relevant
What’s Struggling?
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- Processed cheese struggles as more consumers move to natural
What’s Next?
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- Cheese portioned and packed for snacking
- Raw milk cheese
- Free-from claims gain momentum
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- Figure 17: Cheese new product claims 2011-16*
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Cheese consumption near universal
- Beyond sandwiches, a wide array of uses for natural cheese
- Supermarkets remain top location for natural cheese purchases
- Taste and price most likely to guide purchase decisions
- More consumers report purchasing more cheese
- Overall positive health image boosts cheese
Cheese Consumption
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- Cheese consumption near universal
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- Figure 18: Frequency of cheese consumption, by type, July 2016
- Young adults eat cheese more frequently
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- Figure 19: Frequency of natural cheese consumption, by age, July 2016
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- Figure 20: Frequency of processed cheese consumption, by age, July 2016
- Hispanics eat natural and processed cheese more frequently
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- Figure 21: Frequency of natural cheese consumption, by race/Hispanic origin, July 2016
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- Figure 22: Frequency of processed cheese consumption, by race/Hispanic origin, July 2016
Cheese Use Occasions
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- Beyond sandwiches, a wide array of uses for natural cheese
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- Figure 23: Natural cheese use occasions, July 2016
- Opportunity to promote use occasions among young adults
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- Figure 24: Natural cheese use occasions, by age, July 2016
Purchase Locations
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- Supermarkets remain top location for natural cheese purchases
- Specialty retail mindset expands beyond specialty
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- Figure 25: Natural cheese purchase locations, July 2016
- Younger adults gravitate to specialty stores
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- Figure 26: Natural cheese purchase locations, by age, July 2016
Purchase Considerations
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- Taste and price most likely to guide purchase decisions
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- Figure 27: Natural cheese purchase considerations, July 2016
- Young adults more likely to focus on organic, protein content
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- Figure 28: Natural cheese purchase considerations, by age, July 2016
- Country or region of origin important to higher-income shoppers
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- Figure 29: Natural cheese purchase considerations, by household income, July 2016
Purchase Behaviors
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- More consumers report purchasing more cheese
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- Figure 30: Natural cheese purchase behavior, July 2016
- Higher-income consumers gravitate to premium cheese, greater variety
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- Figure 31: Natural cheese purchase behavior, by household income, July 2016
Attitudes toward Cheese
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- Overall positive health image boosts cheese
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- Figure 32: Attitudes toward cheese, July 2016
- Creating a more engaging cheese shopping experience
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- Figure 33: Attitudes toward cheese, interest in flavors and information – Agree strongly, by age, July 2016
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Sales data
- Fan chart forecast
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Appendix – Market
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- Figure 34: Total US sales and forecast of cheese, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2011-21
- Figure 35: Total US sales and forecast of natural cheese, at current prices, 2011-21
- Figure 36: Total US sales and forecast of processed cheese, at current prices, 2011-21
- Figure 37: Total US sales and forecast of processed cheese, at current prices, 2011-21
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- Figure 38: Total US retail sales of cheese, by channel, at current prices, 2011-16
- Figure 39: MULO natural cheese sales, by form share, 2011-2016
- Figure 40: MULO processed cheese sales, by form share, 2011-2016
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- Figure 41: MULO cream cheese sales, by form share, 2011-2016
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Appendix – Key Players
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- Figure 42: MULO sales of natural cheese, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2015 and 2016
- Figure 43: MULO sales of processed cheese, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2015 and 2016
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- Figure 44: MULO sales of cream cheese/cheese spreads, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2015 and 2016
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