It's a sweet state of affairs for the retail ice cream/sherbet category. Dollar sales jumped 7.6% to $7,298.8 million during the 52 weeks ending May 17, 2020, according to data from Chicago-based market research firm IRI.

Consumers are shunning sugar, and there's no shortage of beverage innovation reflecting this reality. So it's no wonder that the U.S. retail juice segment has had a tough time of it in recent years.

You might say it's a good news/bad news story within the U.S. retail cultured dairy products space. The good news? Some cultured dairy products categories posted strong recent growth.

SPINS, a Chicago-based wellness-focused data technology company, shares its latest COVID-19 Weekly Retail Insights infographic.

It used to be that a grilled cheese sandwich called for American cheese. And a party demanded a processed cheese ball.

While the retail ice cream category has seen sales flatten and even tumble slightly in recent years, its novelties cousin has fared much better.

Like many other U.S. retail food categories, the ice cream category has been awash with innovation during the past few years. From lower-sugar, higher-protein formulations and portion-controlled offerings to "ice cream" that's ... well ... not really ice cream.

From cashew to banana "milk," it seems like nondairy milk alternatives have been popping up in every imaginable form in recent years. And conventional milk has suffered from the competition.

The U.S. retail ice cream segment certainly has seen easier times. According to "Ice Cream and Frozen Novelties - U.S.," a report published in May 2019 by global market research firm Mintel, the mature and diverse category is "finding growth elusive."

The good news continues on the cheese front. According to Portland, Ore.-based Allied Market Research, the U.S. cheese market was valued at $32.3 billion in 2017, and is projected to reach $40.5 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 2.8%.