How’s the dairy foods business? Which one? If you sell natural cheese or Greek yogurt, then the answer is: Great. If you bottle milk or package ice cream, then the answer might be: Things could be better.

Our annual State of the Industry report, beginning on page 24, is a category-by-category review of dairy foods and beverages. The Dairy Foods editorial staff and contributors analyzed sales data from SymphonyIRI Group, Chicago, and interviewed more than two dozen processors and analysts to get their take on the dairy processing industry. After digesting all this information, associate editor Sarah Kennedy and I assigned letter grades to each category. While none failed, some got by with a “gentleman’s C” or C minus. Others earned a gold star for their efforts.