On April 8, something miraculous occurred in the United States that only happens every 18-plus years — a total solar eclipse. St. Louis, Southern Illinois, and Waco, Texas, were among the prime viewing locations for the path of totality.
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.
Yogurt, cream cheese are loved to the moon and back as per cultured dairy sales. IRI reports that yogurt, No. 3 on IRI’s Dairy15 Top Categories list, generated $8.4 billion in dollar sales and an 8.6% YoY growth. No. 9 on the list, cream cheese sales totaled $2.3 billion with 8% YoY growth.
Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers ate at home more often during the past year — and many of them baked and cooked up a storm, too. That reality translated into rosy sales at retail for a number of cultured dairy categories.
The cultured dairy segment has been tossing multiple balls in the air in an effort to meet numerous, and sometimes seemingly conflicting, consumers trends. This balancing act has been delivering mixed results for the categories within the segment.
The era of Greek yogurt cashing in big payouts has ended: The yogurt category has leveled off since the international style's introduction to the U.S. market over a decade ago.
Coming off a sluggish season with near-flat sales across yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese and cottage cheese, cultured dairy products are practicing new techniques in a bid for a World-Series season. The top priority at practice has been positioning the players for new consumption occasions.
Sales of refrigerated yogurt, cottage cheese and kefir slide. Meanwhile, cream cheese and sour cream fare better, and shelf-stable yogurt/yogurt drinks take off.
The cultured dairy segment is seeing its ups and downs. Yogurt, once the driving force, has seen sales struggle of late. Concurrently, other cultured categories such as cream cheese and sour cream are holding their ground or trying to push ahead.
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.