Marketers of cultured dairy products are floating on cloud-nine these days thanks to numerous trends in today's marketplace that are making cultured dairy products more attractive than ever before. For starters, cottage cheese, a category that for so long was either on the decline or was barely managing to stay afloat, is booming as a result of its high-protein positioning. And yogurt, in a drinkable format, just so happens to be the perfect
product for today's on-the-go, health- and wellness-seeking consumer.
Indeed, many cultured dairy products are growing at rates never experienced before. According to a hot-off-the-presses report from Packaged Facts entitled The U.S. Market for Cultured Dairy Products, the current 2004 $9.4 billion market, which includes all retail and foodservice venues, was up 8.1% from $8.7 billion in 2003. But more exciting still is the news that Packaged Facts projects that sales will grow to $15.5 billion in 2009, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 10.6% during the 2004-2009 forecast period.