Articles Tagged with ''state of the industry''

Consumers are demanding dairy products with cleaner labels, value-added ingredients, sugar reductions and more. In our annual State of the Industry report, we take a look at how dairy's 'class of 2017' is delivering on consumer wants and needs.

Don't get distracted by the headlines in 2018. The renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement will demand a lot of attention, but assuming neither of them is wiped off the board completely, growing milk supplies in the other major exporting countries will create the headwind for U.S. exports.

Despite all the changes that racked the world — and our corner of it — these past 12 months, as dairy developers survey the trends and technologies that will shape their R&D efforts in 2018, one theme looms above all others: clean labeling.

The past year has brought good news to some nondairy beverage segments. For example, the cappuccino/iced coffee subcategory saw a 12.1% rise in dollar sales, reaching more than $2 billion, according to data from Chicago-based market research firm Information Resources Inc. (IRI) for the 52 weeks ending Aug. 13, 2017. Unit sales increased by 11.8% to 686.6 million.

A growing number of Americans seem to be convinced that some things are just better with butter. According to data from the USDA, per-capita consumption of butter reached 5.7 pounds in 2016 — up a 1.4 pounds since 1996 and a full pound since 2006.

Ice cream's recent comeback — which began in earnest last year — shows no signs of waning. Retail sales of ice cream in the United States rose a respectable 3.9% to $6.1 billion during the 52 weeks ending Aug. 6, 2017, according to data from Chicago-based Information Resources Inc. (IRI). Unit sales climbed 2.6% to 1.6 billion.

Across food categories, consumers have made their demands clear — they want clean labels, more organic options and flavor variety. And manufacturers of cultured dairy have been answering this call. A diverse range of yogurts, cottage cheese and cream cheese products has hit the market in the last year, shining a light on this category’s versatility.

As consumers continue to seek out food with clean ingredients, protein on the go, freshness and convenience, cheese is the answer to many of those needs. Over the last year, cheese processors have doubled down on portable snack offerings, from cheese bites to snack packs. Hybrid options (think cheese paired with lunch meats, nuts, fruit and pretzels) are popping up everywhere. Portion control and portability are the keys.

It's no secret that per-capita liquid milk consumption has been on the decline in the United States for many years. In fact, Americans consumed 93 pounds less of the dairy beverage in 2016 than they did in 1976, according to data from the USDA.