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Cultured dairy products, dairy products fermented with lactic acid bacteria, have been around for absolutely ages. The COVID-19 pandemic and a bit of innovation on the part of dairy processors, however, have combined to build consumer demand in a number of cultured dairy segments during the past year or so.

The past year saw reduced demand for cheese on the foodservice side, thanks to widespread pandemic-related restaurant closures and indoor dining bans. However, the picture was much brighter on the retail cheese side.

Ice cream and frozen novelties shows no signs of cooling down. At retail, sales of the comfort food staples soared during early pandemic purchase sprees, and that trend has sustained over the past year.

With all 10,000 of our lakes here in Minnesota currently frozen solid, this may be a strange analogy, but dairy prices move like the waves rippling out from a rock thrown in the water.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has many consumers reaching for small indulgences to brighten their days. That reality has been a boon to the frozen novelties category, which Chicago-based market research firm IRI breaks into three subcategories: frozen novelties, ice cream/ice milk desserts and ice pop novelties.

Up until only recently, milk sales in U.S. retail outlets had been on a decades-long decline. As the coronavirus forced many consumers to work, study and/or eat at home, however, retail milk sales benefited.

Many consumers have been turning to their favorite comfort foods to help combat stress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. And one of those favorites certainly appears to be ice cream.

It has been a very, very good year for cheese, at least within the major retail channels. Dollar sales within the natural cheese category shot up 17.0% to $15,449.5 million during the 52 weeks ending Oct. 4, 2020, according to data from Chicago-based market research firm IRI.

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 last year or so might have found some players in the retail butter and butter blends category exclaiming, "It's a jungle out there!" Why? Because certain players in the margarine and spreads subcategory used innovation and questionable marketing (Country Crock "plant butter" - seriously?) to lure consumers and intimidate genuine butter brands.