Articles Tagged with ''state of the industry''

Dairy Foods reports on how the dairy industry in faring in our eight State of the Industry categories: milk, ice cream and frozen novelties, cheese, yogurt and cultured dairy, butter, nondairy beverages, ingredients and exports.

There are sunny skies regarding dairy butter. The subcategory’s dollar sales jumped by 4% YoY to $5.1 billion, while unit sales increased a similar 3% YoY to 984 million.

Sales in the beverages category are mixed year-over-year (YoY), but there are plenty signs of strength. Declining subcategories certainly did not take it on the chin, perhaps a good sign for the industry.

The magnanimous cultured dairy category is like a clear-blue summer sky with resurging, in some cases, double-digit growth that is “eclipsing” much of the dairy industry.

Cheese processors’ cheese creations have performed well in recent years, rising at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.5% from 2018-2023 to barely a whisper of growth, at 0.5%, expected from 2023-2028 to reach $69.7 billion by 2028.

Like a powerful blizzard blasting the landscape, health and wellness is socking it to the dairy ingredients’ sector. But rather than snow, ice, and high winds pelting consumers, shoppers are facing a deluge of such positive elements as products that are low in sugar, high in protein, and those that contain prebiotics and probiotics.

Overall, ice cream/sherbet sales rose by 3% year over (YoY) to $8.6 billion for the 52 weeks ending Aug. 11, according to Chicago-based market research firm Circana. Unit sales picked up 0.5% YoY to 1.84 billion.

Circana reports that in U.S. multi-outlets and convenience stores for the 52 weeks ending Aug. 11, the overall milk category notched $19.6 billion in dollar sales at a slight 1.2% decrease over the prior year. In the “all other” refrigerated milk segment, however, it was near-perfect fall sunshine with 21.2% growth and $252 million in sales.

American life in the 1800s looked vastly different than today. Thanks to the Industrial Revolution, the 1800s saw the newly established United States of America expand from a largely agrarian society to an industrial powerhouse. 

Like the past year, one major theme affecting the cost of food and beverages is inflation. For the 12 months ending Aug. 13, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 3.7% compared to the prior year. Because of inflation, many categories in our State of the Industry issue did exceedingly well dollar-sales wise, but unit sales didn't always sparkle.