When you check out our State of the Industry report in this issue, you’ll find that several segments of the dairy industry experienced flat growth in the 52 weeks ending Sept. 4. For example, in some categories, dollar sales are up, while unit sales are flat or down, according to IRI research. The sales increase is likely in part due to inflation, while the unit sales data perhaps tells a more accurate story.
However, this is not a doom-and-gloom scenario. Several of the categories experiencing flat growth improved when compared to the prior year, when sales suffered year-over-year decline. For instance, refrigerated butter saw dollar sales of $3.3 billion, a year-over-year increase of 7.9% for the 52 weeks ending Sept. 4, IRI data states.