Cheese is one of the most versatile foods around, with consumers enjoying it as a snack, as part of a meal and as an ingredient in countless dishes. So it should come as no surprise that per-capita consumption has grown tremendously in the United States over the past few decades.
But recent sales data show a growth slowdown, at least on the retail side. Dollar sales within the total retail natural cheese category rose a modest 1.1% to $12,961.5 million during the 52 weeks ending Oct. 7, 2018, according to data from Chicago-based market research firm IRI. Unit sales increased 2.0% during the same timeframe.