When U.S. American gymnast and seven-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles goes for the gold at the XXXIII Olympic Summer Games in Paris next year, the 4’ 8” dynamo will bring her artistry, strength, and power to the vault (Yurchenko double pike vault, now named the Biles II), floor exercise, balance beam, and parallel bars.

Cultured dairy, while not the first female gymnast to win six all-around world titles, is garnering considerable success due to the health and wellness attributes of such key category products as spoonable and drinkable yogurt and cottage cheese.

For the 52 weeks ending Aug. 13, Chicago-based market research group Cirana reported that shelf-stable yogurt/yogurt drinks were up 33.3% in multi-outlets, (16 percentage points below last year’s 49.3%). Yet, dollar-sales-wise, the subcategory scored $106 million in dollar sales compared to last year’s $77 million. Unit-wise, shelf-stable yogurt/yogurt drinks had a 7.7% year-over-year (YoY) increase to 18.2 million units. The price per unit rose to $5.83, a 23% increase of $1 over last year’s pricing.

Other winners in the cultured dairy market, per Circana data, are No. 1-selling refrigerated (RFG) yogurt, with dollar sales of $9.3 billion, up 11.8%. However, unit sales in RFG yogurt saw a decline of 4.3% to 3.6 billion units and a price-per-unit cost of $2.53.

Plenty of brands, some of them unexpected like ice cream purveyor Häagen-Dazs, a brand of Minneapolis-based General Mills, debuted new innovations, such as Häagen-Dazs Cultured Crème. Cultured Crème, which takes up to five times longer than traditional yogurt to make, contains no colors from artificial sources or artificial flavors. Made from a unique blend of dairy cultures, with under nine ingredients, the company says the new lineup avoids the tang of yogurt, while offering a smoother, creamier eating experience.

Häagen-Dazs is available nationwide in six flavors: Vanilla Bean, Strawberry, Coffee, Lemon, Blueberry and Black Cherry.

Dan Buckstaff, chief marketing officer for Chicago-based SPINS LLC, notes that several subcategories of cultured dairy are growing versus year-ago dollar sales.

“Notable categories of growth include RFG Cottage & Ricotta & Farmer Cheese, [up 16.1% and sales of $1.7 billion], RFG Sour Cream, [sales of $1.7 billion, an increase of 13.6%] and RFG Yogurt Drinkable, [up 13.1% and sales of $1.3 billion],” Buckstaff relays.

Under dairy and plant-based dairy alternatives other, SPINS data documents that RFG Cream Cheese and Other Cheese Spreads and RFG Sour Cream back flipped its way to $3.3 billion and $1.7 billion in dollar sales, respectively, a double-digit uptick of 13.4% and 13.6%.

Balancing on the beam 

Dublin, Ireland-based Research and Markets reports positive results for the yogurt market due to its low-calorie content and abundance in essential nutrients such as calcium, potassium, and probiotics.

In 2022, low-fat yogurt recorded $20.2 billion in sales and is poised to fly even higher. According to Research and Markets’ report, the market is projected to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.28% during the forecast period of 2023-2028, ultimately reaching $37.1 billion by 2028.

Low-fat yogurt, prepared by fermenting low-fat or skim milk, also has versatility, as it can be used as a substitute for mayonnaise, cream and sour cream in various dishes. Some dairy processors also are incorporating whey protein, increasing total solids content and adding thickeners to yogurt products.

When assessing the yogurt market, Chicago-based market research firm Circana divides it between  Spoonable and Drinkable.

“Drinkable represents 13% of total Yogurt (Spoonable 87%),” says John Crawford, Circana’s senior vice president of Client Insights-Dairy. “Drinkable is up 11.6% in dollars but down 3% in volume (spoonable, up 11.1% and 1.3% respectively).”

General Mills debuted two yogurt snacks for the whole family to enjoy: Yoplait Original with Chocolate Shavings and Go-Gurt Freeze & Reveal tubes. The Minneapolis-based manufacturer reveals that that Yoplait Original with Chocolate Shavings — the first of its kind for the brand — is inspired by treats like chocolate-covered strawberries and cordial cherries. The Yogurt Original with Chocolate Shavings is available in fan-favorite Yoplait flavors of Strawberry, Cherry, and Raspberry.

Additionally, with an ode to childhood memories and the notion that many used to freeze Go-Gurt as a kid, Go-Gurt introduced Go-Gurt Freeze & Reveal tubes — its newest innovation that’s designed to be eaten frozen. Simply freeze your Go-Gurt and the tubes will reveal fun images and messages.

“This is another reason we are seeing growth in yogurt; consumers are switching out ingredients in favor of yogurt to add protein, a source of calcium and probiotics,” SPINS’ Buckstaff states. “Drinkable yogurt especially is popular with consumers because it is easy for them to grab on the way to the office or the gym.”

Yet, out of all the cultured dairy categories, Buckstaff suggests that yogurt fosters the greatest competition “because there are so many different types from Icelandic to Australian that are all competing to be the favorite yogurt.”

He adds: “Each one offers a different texture, protein amount and taste. Flavors are innovating with the seasons and brands are making sure to highlight their clean-label attributes for consumers.”

Yet, yogurt isn’t the only category stretching the imagination. Philadelphia Cream Cheese, first produced in 1872 and headquartered in New York State not Philadelphia, holds the lion’s share of the cream cheese market and continues to dominate. Surpassing private label in three subcategories — soft, brick and whipped cream cheese —  the No. 1-selling Kraft Heinz brand generated $812 million in dollar sales in soft (up 12.7%); $747 million in brick (up 12.5%); and $183 million in whipped (up 21.7%) for the 52 weeks ending Aug. 13, Circana data reports.

The company continues to innovate by introducing the first Philadelphia Plant-Based spread to the market this summer. A recipe more than two years in the making, the new plant-based offering mirrors the taste and creamy texture of the iconic Philadelphia brand, the company says, adding that it hopes to delight the 52% of consumers who want to add more plant-based foods to their diets.

“The influx of flexitarian consumers has driven growth within the plant-based market, which is now more than 20 times the size of the vegan population,” says Robert Scott, president of Research and Development at Kraft Heinz at the time of release. “As the brand that has set the cream cheese standard for 150 years, we realized the current options weren’t meeting consumer expectations and there was no trusted leader.”

Gold-medal performances   

Just like the multiple gold-winning Biles, shelf-stable yogurt/yogurt drinks, cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream and RFG whipped toppings are winning mostly gold medals, with a few silver medals interspersed. As per Circana data for the year ending Aug. 13, overall cream cheese/spreads market notched $2.7 billion in U.S. multi-outlets, a 18.6% YoY increase. Unit-sales wise, there were nearly 741 million units sold, a slight decline of 0.6%.

Sour cream and RFG whipped toppings totaled $1.6 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively, gaining YoY increases of 14.7% and 18.6%. In these subcategories, consumers are continuing to “do a dollop” of Daisy to the tune of $957 million (a 13.7% increase).

When it comes to non-aerosol whipped toppings, the Top 3 were private label, with $878 million in dollar sales (a 32.7% increase); Horizon, with YoY growth of 7.6%, and dollar sales of nearly $70 million; and Land O’Lakes, with dollar sales of $46 million, a 5.4% increase for the year ending Aug. 13, Circana data reports.

Albeit from a smaller base, aerosol-whipped toppings also generated double-digit gains. The Top 3 were Reddi-Wip, a brand of Conagra Brands, with $429 million in sales, a 10.8% increase; private-label dollar sales rose 19.2% to $223 million; and Cabot, a brand of Agri-Mark, generated $10 million in sales, a 14.4% increase.

The best of the best

Experts suggest that most cultured dairy subcategories will continue to thrive in the market, particularly as brands tout the functional, health-boosting benefits of their products.

“Digestive, or “gut” health has been a popular trend for consumers over the last several years and has taken over parts of social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram with influencers talking about the foods they are consuming to heal their microbiome,” SPINS’ Buckstaff states.

Circana’s Crawford pushes dairy companies to pursue innovation. “Sour cream, cottage cheese and cream cheese have seen very little innovation over the years and are ripe for future innovation, while yogurt and natural cheese launch new products frequently,” he says.

In a new product launch, Lynnfield, Mass.-based Hood introduced Hood Cottage Cheese Medleys, a new single-serve, flavor-packed snack intended for any on-the-go moment. The new product brings consumers a way to enjoy cottage cheese and delivers crave-able flavor combinations and crunchy mix-ins in one convenient, protein-packed snack.  

Available in three flavors — Pineapple with Honey Roasted Almonds, Strawberry with Graham Crackers and Chocolate Chips, and Blueberry with Crunchy Oat Granola — the Cottage Cheese Medleys offer the perfect way to mix up routines with no prep: just flip, stir and go, the company says.

Per Circana data, the overall cottage cheese market generated $1.2 billion in dollar sales in multi-outlets and convenience stores for the 52 weeks ending Aug. 13, a YoY increase of 16.6%.

The Top 5 brands were: private label, with $460 million in sales (a nearly 21% increase); Daisy gained a YoY increase of 27% and sales of $224 million; Breakstone’s, with dollar sales of $133 million, a 17.7% gain; Good Culture, which climbed 52% while notching sales of $72 million; and Hood gained a YoY increase of 9.6% and sales of $66 million, per Circana data.

SPINS’ Buckstaff notes that accelerated growth within cottage cheese and yogurt can be attributed to their digestive health benefits.

“Cottage cheese specifically is one of the products that has been being touted by fitness influencers because of its probiotics, high protein content and ability to be added to many recipes without alternating the taste,” he explains.

As dairy companies strive to leverage growth and stand out from a sea of competitors, Crawford advises to “innovate, communicate benefits, bring aggressive pricing and promotion strategies, advertise and leverage strong social media campaigns.”