“With great power comes great responsibility.” This phrase, first uttered by Uncle Ben to Spider-Man in a comic book, has been repeated nearly every year in some phrase or form of pop culture. 

The phrase can also apply to the dairy industry. Dairy processors have great power to produce nutritious foods and beverages that consumers love, while striving to make a profit. In addition to being a major source of the world’s food consumption, dairy processors are pressed to create their products and packaging sustainably. 

Just like the changing seasons and catastrophic weather events like Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, the dairy industry has experienced torrential downpour, cloudy days as well as warm and hot temperatures and sunny skies. And just as summer fades into fall, there’s still above normal temperatures to go along with a chill in the air and falling leaves.

The dairy industry also has had to weather plenty of changes and challenges. Some categories that may have experienced small revenue increases found their volume decreasing or vice versa. And we’ll see in this report how dairy products like fluid milk are increasingly being used in higher ticket items like premium cheese, which fetches a much higher price than a gallon of milk. 

Be sure to check out how the dairy industry in faring in our eight State of the Industry categories: milk, ice cream and frozen novelties, cheese, yogurt and cultured dairy, butter, nondairy beverages, ingredients and exports. There’s also data/charts from market research firm Circana, which demonstrates the reach of respective categories. Some categories are shining brightly. For example, cottage cheese is eclipsing many categories when it comes to year-over-year (YoY) dollar sales growth. In U.S. multi-outlets and convenience stores for the 52 weeks ending Aug. 11, cottage cheese sales rose 16% to $1.6 billion..

A double-digit 16% YoY gain in any dairy industry category is huge. Could this lift be due to creative recipes presented by TikTok influencers utilizing cottage cheese as a main ingredient? What do analysts say about cottage cheese, yogurt and other cultured dairy products taking the market by storm?  Turn to our Cultured Dairy report for trends, products and more.

Milk sales swirl like fall winds

Milk category declines 1.2%, but notches dollar sales of $19.6B

Ice cream continues its ascent

Frozen novelty and dessert sales melt however.

Cultured Dairy eclipses dairy industry with protein-packed nutrition

Yogurt, cottage cheese drive sales due to health and wellness benefits.

Refrigerated beverages sales percolate

Bottled juices, RTD coffee/tea and aseptic juices see year-over-year sales declines, however.

A sunny outlook for U.S. dairy

United States is on track for record cheese exports in 2024.

Butter category has its ups and downs

Dairy butter sales enjoy a solid year, but other subsegments are not as smooth.

A sunny and bright outlook for cheese

With 0.5% growth, cheese category to churn out $69.7 billion by 2028

Ingredient suppliers focus on health and wellness

Processors are incorporating elements that cater to consumers’ health concerns.

View reports from years past

State of the Industry 2023

State of the Industry 2022

State of the Industry 2021