The days of milk consumption decline seem to be in the rear-view mirror. Not only has the beverage quelled the consumption drop it had seen in recent years, but sales appear to be on an upward trend.

Overall, the Dairy Milk category saw dollar sales rise by 3% year over year (YoY) to $17.7 billion, with unit sales coming in flat at 4.8 billion. The Refrigerated White Dairy Milk subcategory exhibited similar results, enjoying a dollar sales increase of 3% YoY to $15.8 billion for the 52 weeks ending Nov. 30, 2025, while unit sales were flat YoY at 4.2 billion, according to Chicago-based market research firm Circana.

Among the top 10 sellers in this broad Refrigerated White Dairy Milk subcategory, several brands had excellent years. The top seller remains private label, whose dollar sales lifted by 1% YoY to $9.7 billion, but unit sales declined by 1% to 2.9 billion. But the big news in the Refrigerated White Dairy Milk category belongs to three companies: fairlife, Organic Valley and The A2 Milk Co. All three companies boosted both dollar and unit sales YoY by a double-digit percentage. Let’s start with Chicago-based fairlife, a division of The Coca-Cola Co., the No. 3 seller in the category, whose dollar sales jumped by 25% YoY to $980 million, along with a YoY unit sales rise of 14% to 188 million, Circana data reports.

No. 5 seller, La Farge, Wis.-based Organic Valley, also picked up plenty of steam for the 52 weeks ending Nov. 30, 2025, increasing dollar sales by 21% YoY to $326 million, while unit sales gained 14% YoY to 51 million. The A2 Milk Co., whose North American headquarters are located in Boulder, Colo., is now the No. 9 seller in the category, thanks to a 30% percent YoY increase in dollar sales to $104 million, pairing nicely with a 25% YoY rise in unit sales to 19.5 million.

Switching gears to Refrigerated Flavored Milk, the news is also positive. The subcategory’s dollar sales climbed by 4% YoY to $1.9 billion, with unit sales eking out a 0.5% YoY gain to 609 million, per Circana data. Once again, private label is the top seller in the subcategory, reaching $475 million in dollar sales, an advancement of 2% YoY, while unit sales gained 1% YoY to 173 million. In Refrigerated Flavored Milk, fairlife was again a star, enjoying a dollar sales jump of 20% YoY to $276 million, along with a 10% YoY unit sales rise to 53 million for the No. 2 seller in the subcategory.

Another refrigerated flavored milk standout was No. 9 seller Shamrock Foods Co. The Phoenix-based company’s dollar sales skyrocketed 28% YoY to $53 million, while unit sales gained a similar 27% YoY to 24.5 million.

Milk alternatives will appear in our September “Market Trends” column, so we will not steal the thunder of that story. Yet, the overall plant-based milk category suffered a 3% YoY drop to $2.4 billion, as well as a greater 5% YoY unit sales decline to 591 million, Circana data reports.

However, the All Other Milk category gained 21% YoY in both dollar sales and unit sales to $340 million and 78 million, respectively. A majority of the sales in this category belong to refrigerated kefir, which saw 30% YoY dollar sales growth of $244 million, paired well with a 28% jump in unit sales to 62 million.

Morton Grove, Ill.-based Lifeway Foods, winner of the 2025 Dairy Foods Processor of the Year, accounts for most of the sales, with its dollar sales rising 24% YoY to $207 million, along with a 21% YoY unit sales increase to 52.6 million.

Within refrigerated kefir, Jackson-Mitchell Inc. rocketed upwards as the No. 4 seller in the category. Although on a smaller sales base, the Turlock, Calif.-based company’s dollar sales rose 1.6 million percent YoY to $1.75 million, only to be bested by a 1.8 million percent YoY unit sales jump to 210,281, according to Circana.