Cheese continues its ascent

More cheese, please… In several cases, consumers are buying more.

When it comes to natural cheese, sales continue to chug along. Overall, natural cheese totaled just shy of $17.5 billion for the 52 weeks ending Oct. 8, a 5% year-over-year (YoY) gain, according to Circana, a Chicago-based market research firm. In unit sales, which are much tougher for dairy categories to show gains in due to inflation, natural cheese bucked the trend, gaining 1% YoY to 4.38 billion.

Breaking it down into subcategories, natural cheese-shredded, natural cheese-chunks, natural cheese-slices, natural cheese-crumbled and refrigerated grated cheese all had strong years, Circana data reveals. Each of these subcategories enjoyed both dollar sales and unit sales gains during the past year.

Natural cheese-shredded dollar sales equaled $6.7 billion for the year ending Oct. 8, a 6% increase, while unit sales increased 2% to 1.8 billion. Taking the top spot, private-label products were quadruple any other competitor, increasing its dollar sales by 7% to $4.5 billion. Unit sales also rose by 3% to 1.25 billion. Lactalis Heritage Dairy’s Kraft brand placed second on the list, generating $967 million in dollar sales, a 2% YoY improvement, but unit sales dropped by 5% to 266 million, Circana data states.

A rising star in the natural cheese-shredded subcategory was Frigo, a Saputo Dairy Foods USA brand, whose dollar sales jumped nearly 22% to just shy of $50 million, while unit sales rose 15% to $12.5 million.

Within natural cheese-chunks, dollar sales clocked in at nearly $4.5 billion, a YoY increase of 5%. Unit sales rose a slight 1% to 968 million. Private label made up about one-third of all dollar sales ($1.63B) in this category. Placing second on the list with solid growth for the year ending Oct. 8 was Oregon-based Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA), whose dollar sales lifted 6% YoY to nearly $283 million and 42 million in unit sales, a 1% increase.

Natural cheese-slices improved by 4% YoY to $3.1 billion, with unit sales showing a negligible gain of 0.1% to 870.5 million. Private label again finished first with about half of all dollar sales ($1.56 billion). Sargento placed second, with dollar sales of $796 million, a small 0.2% decline YoY. The Plymouth, Wis.-based company’s unit sales dropped 2% to 222 million.

Again, TCCA had a solid showing in natural cheese-slices, enjoying double-digit YoY dollar sales ($162 million, up 11%) and unit sales (37 million, up 12%).

Natural cheese-crumbled had an even better year. Its dollar sales generated YoY growth of 8% and sales of $570 million, to go along with a 2% unit sales gain to 119 million. Athenos leads this category — outpacing private label by $50 million — and enjoyed solid growth. The Emmi Roth USA brand’s dollar sales jumped 12% YoY to $158 million, paired well with its nearly 30 million units sold, a 9% rise.

Although on a smaller basis in terms of dollars, refrigerated grated cheese was a superstar during the past year. The subcategory’s dollar sales rocketed higher by 17% to $161 million, while unit sales jumped 9% to nearly 33 million, per Circana data. Private label is No. 1 in this category, accounting for more than one-third ($57 million) in dollar sales for the period ending Oct. 8.

However, several brands exhibited tremendous growth in both dollar and unit sales, including Green Bay, Wis.-based Belgioioso; Plymouth, Wis.-based Sartori; Mexican Cheese Producers brand La Chona; and Kraft, placing second to fifth in terms of dollar sales, respectively. All achieved YoY dollar sales percentage gains exceeding 20% YoY (Belgioioso, $32 million, up 23%; Sartori, $14 million, up 21%; La Chona, $11 million, up 23%; and Kraft, $8 million, up 28%), according to Circana research.

Mixed and negative results

Natural cheese-string/stick, ricotta cheese and natural cheese-cube exhibited mixed results. Natural cheese-string/stick dollar sales demonstrated a solid 5% dollar sales raise to $1.6 billion, but unit sales declined by 4% to 362 million. Private label led this category as well, selling about one-third ($525 million in dollar sales) in this subcategory. Kraft, ranked No. 4, made a strong move in this category, with dollar sales skyrocketing 15% YoY to $85 million. Its unit sales also showed a healthy increase of 6% YoY to 26 million.

Despite being considered mixed, many could argue ricotta cheese had an excellent year, with the subcategory enjoying a healthy 12% dollar sales gain to $304 million., with unit sales dropping 0.1% to 70 million. Private label led again in this subcategory, accounting for $114 million in dollar sales for the 52 weeks ending Oct. 8. But Lactalis American brand Galbani is hot on private label’s tail. Galbani’s dollar sales jumped by 19% YoY to $111 million, while unit sales rose 8% to 23 million.

Processed cheese sales were not as robust as its natural cheese brethren. Overall, this category saw dollar sales rise 3% to $3.4 billion, but unit sales soured by 4% to 704 million, per Circana data. Mixed results of improving dollar sales and weakened unit sales were evident in the processed/imitation cheese slices and aerosol/squeezable cheese spreads.

Starting with processed/imitation cheese slices, the subcategory’s dollar sales came in at nearly $2 billion for the year ending Oct. 8. However, unit sales dipped by 3% to 437 million. Kraft led the way in this category, melting the competition in this subcategory with $1.08 billion in sales, good enough for a 4% YoY advance. Unit sales, though, declined by 8% YoY to $192 million.

Aerosol/squeezable cheese spreads also generated mixed results. Dollar sales climbed 7% to $119 million, but unit sales dropped 4% to 28 million. Mondelez International Inc.’s Nabisco placed first in this subcategory, with dollar sales rising 9% to $54 million. The Chicago-based company suffered a YoY unit sales drop of 3% to 10 million.

Conversely, weakness in both dollar sales and unit sales was exhibited in the cheese spreads/balls, processed/imitation cheese-loaf, and processed/imitations cheese-shredded, categories, meaning all experienced both dollar sales and unit sales declines for the 52 weeks ending Oct. 8, Circana data reports.

Cheese spreads/balls dollar sales declined slightly by 1% to $573 million. However, unit sales cratered by 8% to 144 million. Properties owned by Chicago’s Bel Brands placed No. 1 and No. 2 in this subcategory, but they had different years in terms of growth. The top seller for the year ending Oct. 8 was The Laughing Cow, whose dollar sales of $106 million was a 1% decline YoY. Unit sales dropped a larger 11% to 26 million. Boursin, however, put up huge sales gains of 22% to $73 million in dollar sales and its unit sales advanced 11% to 11 million, according to Circana data.

Processed/imitation cheese-loaf dollar sales also dipped by 1% YoY to $512 million, with unit sales titling downward bv 3% to $70 million. Pittsburgh-based Kraft Heinz Co.’s Velveeta accounts for nearly all dollar sales in this subcategory ($504 million, down 1% YoY and unit sales down 3% to 69 million). Private label, Kraft (the brand under the Lactalis umbrella), Chanhassen, Minn.-based Bongards and Arden Hills, Minn.’s Land O’Lakes placed second through fifth in this category, respectively.

Lastly, processed/imitation cheese-shredded suffered a more difficult year. The subcategory’s dollar sales fell by 7% to $117 million. Unit sales faced even tougher sledding, fizzling by 15% to 29 million. Velveeta was No. 1 in this subcategory, accounting for $30 million in sales (a YoY decrease of 8%) and 10 million units (a 20% YoY decline), according to Circana.

The No. 2 processor in the processed/imitation cheese-shredded subcategory for the 52 weeks ending Oct. 8 was Upfield US Inc.’s Violife, which continues to inch closer toward the top spot in terms of dollar sales, improving by 22% YoY to $26 million. The Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based company’s unit sales were also strong, rising 11% YoY to 5 million. DF