Cheese usage is growing, cheese production is booming and your cheese trade association is expanding to match the success.
Retail Sales
Natural cheese sales at all retail outlets, in the four weeks ending April 21, are up 3 percent versus one year ago, and pasteurized process cheese is also up 3.3 percent. Solid volume gains are found across the board, from Fresh Mozzarella (up 5.6 percent) to Gouda (up 11.6 percent), Muenster (up 2.8 percent), Queso styles (up more than 10 percent), Monterey Jack (up 5.8 percent) and String cheese (up 21.6 percent). Cheddar volume at retail is essentially flat, along with Feta and Colby. Fontina, Swiss, and Blue are down, but “hot” cheeses such as Burrata (up 41.9 percent), Gorgonzola (up 17 percent) and Asadero (up 33.6 percent) point to consumer interest in the wide array of value-added cheeses.
The four-week snapshot above proves that retail sales are strengthening this spring. When looking at a full year of sales ending April 21, natural cheese was up 2.2 percent and pasteurized process up 0.6 percent. Dairy Management Inc. collects this national retail scanner data from Circana.
To read the rest of the article, please go to: Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA)
