Flavored milk sales take off at retail
But sales of white milk tumble.
Retail milk sales have soured of late. Dollar sales within the refrigerated milk category fell 1.5% to $14,274.0 million during the 52 weeks ending Nov. 28, 2021, according to data from Chicago-based market research firm IRI. Unit sales tumbled 4.6% to 4,736.1 million.
White milk stumbles
The downward trend can be blamed on the subpar performance of the refrigerated white milk subcategory. Dollar sales within that subcategory decreased 2.3% to $12,602.8 million. Unit sales plunged 5.6% to 4,073.1 million. (IRI did not provide sales breakdowns for various fat levels.)
Four of the Top 10 brands (Hood, Prairie Farms, Fairlife, and Organic Valley) bucked the downward trend, recording positive growth in both dollar and unit sales. Of those brands, Fairlife realized the most success, posting a 19.7% gain in dollar sales and a 19.2% increase in unit sales.
Meanwhile, the Dairy Pure brand lost the most ground. Its dollar sales fell 67.1%, and its unit sales decreased by 65.7%.
Flavored milk impresses
It was a completely different story on the refrigerated flavored milk side. The subcategory recorded a 5.1% dollar sales gain, reaching $1,671.2 million. Unit sales rose 2.1% to 663.0 million.
Seven of the top 10 brands (private label, Fairlife, Borden, Prairie Farms, Hood, Promised Land, and Darigold) posted both dollar and unit sales increases. And several of those brands saw double-digit dollar and unit sales growth. Dollar and unit sales for the Prairie Farms brand rose 20.7% and 15.9%, respectively. Fairlife realized 15.7% and 15.6% gains in dollar and unit sales, respectively, while Borden saw 14.8% and 10.6% increases.
Not all top 10 brands were so lucky. The worst performer among them was TruMoo, which saw dollar sales dwindle 32.9% and unit sales shrink 34.1%.
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