Like a balloon ascending to the sky, most segments of the cultured dairy category — refrigerated yogurt and yogurt drinks, cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, dairy dips, and whipped toppings — are going “up, up and away.” In fact, Dan Buckstaff, chief marketing officer for Chicago-based SPINS LLC, notes that the overall category is up 13%, with dollar sales of $16.08 billion for the 52 weeks ending Jan. 29.
John Crawford, vice president of Client Insights-Dairy at Chicago-based Circana (formerly IRI and NPD) tells Dairy Foods that cultured dairy dollar sales were up 14.1% within U.S. multi-outlets and convenience stores for the 52 weeks ending Feb. 26. However, by volume, sales were slightly down by -1.3% for the last 52 weeks.