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CNN
3 days ago
- Business
- CNN
TikTok made cottage cheese so popular, producers are struggling to keep up
TikTok Food & drink Sustainability Food & healthFacebookTweetLink Follow When clients used to ask John Crawford if he thought cottage cheese could make a comeback, his answer was an emphatic: 'No.' 'Part of it was texture, part of it was – it was a diet food, it was your grandparents' food,' said Crawford, SVP of client insights for dairy at the market research firm Circana. 'But TikTok changed all that.' For years, cottage cheese was overlooked, relegated to the diet section of old-fashioned diner menus and health food recipes from the 1950s. But recently, young, protein-hungry consumers have whipped up new recipes and posted them online, turning the lumpy cheese into an internet sensation. Now, popular brands and manufacturers are struggling to keep up with skyrocketing demand. Cottage cheese sales jumped 20% in US retail in the 52 weeks through June 15 compared to a year ago, according to data from Circana. That followed a roughly 17% annual bump in both 2024 and 2023 and an 11% increase in 2022. The surge marked a turnaround from 2021, when cottage cheese sales fell from the year prior. Cottage cheese is so popular, it made grocery chain Albertons' CEO Susan Morris do a double take. 'I had to double check the numbers, but cottage cheese is actually a strong growth category,' Morris said during a July analyst call discussing quarterly financial results. Some brands have seen even higher spikes, creating spot shortages. Sales of Organic Valley's cottage cheese grew over 30% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to the co-op. 'Organic Valley Cottage Cheese is selling faster than we can make it,' said Andrew Westrich, marketing manager at Organic Valley. Good Culture, a decade-old cottage cheese brand that is featured prominently in many TikTok videos, has seen its sales explode to the point where it can't keep product on shelves. On July 2nd, the company acknowledged the situation on its Instagram page. 'We know it's been hard to find us lately,' read the caption on the meme-filled post. 'We see the DMs, know demand has been WILD and are working around the clock to get us back in stock.' Customers 'call, email, and post about us when they can't find us,' said Jesse Merrill, CEO and founder of Good Culture. 'The insane demand for our products and our struggle to keep up with it prompted us to acknowledge the shortage.' Merrill saw the potential for cottage cheese back in 2014, he said. It took about ten years for health food influencers to catch up. Cottage cheese, a popular diet food in the middle of the 20th century, was well past its heyday when Good Culture officially launched in 2015. But since then, Americans have been increasingly looking for foods that are high in protein, low in sugar and appropriate for a GLP-1 diet. At the same time, dairy has gotten more popular, with per capita consumption rising in the US. Cottage cheese fits the bill on all fronts. And creative home chefs have figured out how to mask its texture. By spring of 2023, recipes for cottage cheese ice cream were going viral on TikTok. Scores of videos showed food influencers marveling over strawberry cheesecake ice cream, banana cream pie ice cream, berry banana ice cream and more — all made with cottage cheese. Now, in addition to ice cream, interested parties can find recipes for everything from buffalo chicken dip to bagels and biscuits. One account for a self-described health coach has a series of videos simply titled 'how to make cottage cheese taste good.' Coming up with more ways to use a product at home 'can drive an entire category,' Circana's Crawford said. And sellers of the until-recently not-very-cool cheese are leaning in. Cabot Creamery, which makes a Vermont-style cottage cheese (a mix of large and small curds), has posted recipes for cheesecake dip, pizza toast and queso on its website. Good Culture took advantage of its own viral moment with an ad campaign embracing the various ways of preparing and consuming its product. The sustained interest has Crawford convinced that demand for cottage cheese isn't just a passing craze. 'It is not a fad when you are seeing double-digit growth in both dollars and in volume, quarter over quarter over quarter, for two years,' he said. Now manufacturers just have to catch up. To increase supply, Good Culture has started working with more manufacturing partners. But it can't do much more at the moment. 'Most existing production facilities are maxed out,' Merrill said. Good Culture plans to have 'significantly more capacity available' early next year, he added. Organic Valley also works with contract manufacturers, 'many of whom are actively expanding capacity or adding production shifts to meet rising demand,' said Westrich, adding that 'the environment is highly competitive.' Dairy processors have started to build out more production, but it will take time to get new plants or equipment up and running. Daisy Brand, a major producer of cottage cheese and sour cream, recently broke ground on a new facility in Iowa. And Westby Cooperative Creamery, a farmer-owned dairy co-op that sells cottage cheese under its own brand and also makes it for private label and foodservice providers, is investing in new cottage cheese vats. Currently, Westby can make about 14.5 million pounds of cottage cheese per year, said Emily Bialkowski, the co-op's sales and marketing manager. But 'our orders are exceeding that by no less than 30%, and that does not include new inquiries,' she said. The new vats should be operational in the fall of next year, she said, noting that 'word is getting out … and many of our current customers have lined up to pre-commit to additional volume.' For now, Westby is partially filling customer orders. So cottage cheese fans will have to be patient. Or wait until TikTok moves on to the next big thing.
CNN
3 days ago
- Business
- CNN
TikTok made cottage cheese so popular, producers are struggling to keep up
When clients used to ask John Crawford if he thought cottage cheese could make a comeback, his answer was an emphatic: 'No.' 'Part of it was texture, part of it was – it was a diet food, it was your grandparents' food,' said Crawford, SVP of client insights for dairy at the market research firm Circana. 'But TikTok changed all that.' For years, cottage cheese was overlooked, relegated to the diet section of old-fashioned diner menus and health food recipes from the 1950s. But recently, young, protein-hungry consumers have whipped up new recipes and posted them online, turning the lumpy cheese into an internet sensation. Now, popular brands and manufacturers are struggling to keep up with skyrocketing demand. Cottage cheese sales jumped 20% in US retail in the 52 weeks through June 15 compared to a year ago, according to data from Circana. That followed a roughly 17% annual bump in both 2024 and 2023 and an 11% increase in 2022. The surge marked a turnaround from 2021, when cottage cheese sales fell from the year prior. Cottage cheese is so popular, it made grocery chain Albertons' CEO Susan Morris do a double take. 'I had to double check the numbers, but cottage cheese is actually a strong growth category,' Morris said during a July analyst call discussing quarterly financial results. Some brands have seen even higher spikes, creating spot shortages. Sales of Organic Valley's cottage cheese grew over 30% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to the co-op. 'Organic Valley Cottage Cheese is selling faster than we can make it,' said Andrew Westrich, marketing manager at Organic Valley. Good Culture, a decade-old cottage cheese brand that is featured prominently in many TikTok videos, has seen its sales explode to the point where it can't keep product on shelves. On July 2nd, the company acknowledged the situation on its Instagram page. 'We know it's been hard to find us lately,' read the caption on the meme-filled post. 'We see the DMs, know demand has been WILD and are working around the clock to get us back in stock.' Customers 'call, email, and post about us when they can't find us,' said Jesse Merrill, CEO and founder of Good Culture. 'The insane demand for our products and our struggle to keep up with it prompted us to acknowledge the shortage.' Merrill saw the potential for cottage cheese back in 2014, he said. It took about ten years for health food influencers to catch up. Cottage cheese, a popular diet food in the middle of the 20th century, was well past its heyday when Good Culture officially launched in 2015. But since then, Americans have been increasingly looking for foods that are high in protein, low in sugar and appropriate for a GLP-1 diet. At the same time, dairy has gotten more popular, with per capita consumption rising in the US. Cottage cheese fits the bill on all fronts. And creative home chefs have figured out how to mask its texture. By spring of 2023, recipes for cottage cheese ice cream were going viral on TikTok. Scores of videos showed food influencers marveling over strawberry cheesecake ice cream, banana cream pie ice cream, berry banana ice cream and more — all made with cottage cheese. Now, in addition to ice cream, interested parties can find recipes for everything from buffalo chicken dip to bagels and biscuits. One account for a self-described health coach has a series of videos simply titled 'how to make cottage cheese taste good.' Coming up with more ways to use a product at home 'can drive an entire category,' Circana's Crawford said. And sellers of the until-recently not-very-cool cheese are leaning in. Cabot Creamery, which makes a Vermont-style cottage cheese (a mix of large and small curds), has posted recipes for cheesecake dip, pizza toast and queso on its website. Good Culture took advantage of its own viral moment with an ad campaign embracing the various ways of preparing and consuming its product. The sustained interest has Crawford convinced that demand for cottage cheese isn't just a passing craze. 'It is not a fad when you are seeing double-digit growth in both dollars and in volume, quarter over quarter over quarter, for two years,' he said. Now manufacturers just have to catch up. To increase supply, Good Culture has started working with more manufacturing partners. But it can't do much more at the moment. 'Most existing production facilities are maxed out,' Merrill said. Good Culture plans to have 'significantly more capacity available' early next year, he added. Organic Valley also works with contract manufacturers, 'many of whom are actively expanding capacity or adding production shifts to meet rising demand,' said Westrich, adding that 'the environment is highly competitive.' Dairy processors have started to build out more production, but it will take time to get new plants or equipment up and running. Daisy Brand, a major producer of cottage cheese and sour cream, recently broke ground on a new facility in Iowa. And Westby Cooperative Creamery, a farmer-owned dairy co-op that sells cottage cheese under its own brand and also makes it for private label and foodservice providers, is investing in new cottage cheese vats. Currently, Westby can make about 14.5 million pounds of cottage cheese per year, said Emily Bialkowski, the co-op's sales and marketing manager. But 'our orders are exceeding that by no less than 30%, and that does not include new inquiries,' she said. The new vats should be operational in the fall of next year, she said, noting that 'word is getting out … and many of our current customers have lined up to pre-commit to additional volume.' For now, Westby is partially filling customer orders. So cottage cheese fans will have to be patient. Or wait until TikTok moves on to the next big thing.
CNN
3 days ago
- Business
- CNN
TikTok made cottage cheese so popular, producers are struggling to keep up
When clients used to ask John Crawford if he thought cottage cheese could make a comeback, his answer was an emphatic: 'No.' 'Part of it was texture, part of it was – it was a diet food, it was your grandparents' food,' said Crawford, SVP of client insights for dairy at the market research firm Circana. 'But TikTok changed all that.' For years, cottage cheese was overlooked, relegated to the diet section of old-fashioned diner menus and health food recipes from the 1950s. But recently, young, protein-hungry consumers have whipped up new recipes and posted them online, turning the lumpy cheese into an internet sensation. Now, popular brands and manufacturers are struggling to keep up with skyrocketing demand. Cottage cheese sales jumped 20% in US retail in the 52 weeks through June 15 compared to a year ago, according to data from Circana. That followed a roughly 17% annual bump in both 2024 and 2023 and an 11% increase in 2022. The surge marked a turnaround from 2021, when cottage cheese sales fell from the year prior. Cottage cheese is so popular, it made grocery chain Albertons' CEO Susan Morris do a double take. 'I had to double check the numbers, but cottage cheese is actually a strong growth category,' Morris said during a July analyst call discussing quarterly financial results. Some brands have seen even higher spikes, creating spot shortages. Sales of Organic Valley's cottage cheese grew over 30% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to the co-op. 'Organic Valley Cottage Cheese is selling faster than we can make it,' said Andrew Westrich, marketing manager at Organic Valley. Good Culture, a decade-old cottage cheese brand that is featured prominently in many TikTok videos, has seen its sales explode to the point where it can't keep product on shelves. On July 2nd, the company acknowledged the situation on its Instagram page. 'We know it's been hard to find us lately,' read the caption on the meme-filled post. 'We see the DMs, know demand has been WILD and are working around the clock to get us back in stock.' Customers 'call, email, and post about us when they can't find us,' said Jesse Merrill, CEO and founder of Good Culture. 'The insane demand for our products and our struggle to keep up with it prompted us to acknowledge the shortage.' Merrill saw the potential for cottage cheese back in 2014, he said. It took about ten years for health food influencers to catch up. Cottage cheese, a popular diet food in the middle of the 20th century, was well past its heyday when Good Culture officially launched in 2015. But since then, Americans have been increasingly looking for foods that are high in protein, low in sugar and appropriate for a GLP-1 diet. At the same time, dairy has gotten more popular, with per capita consumption rising in the US. Cottage cheese fits the bill on all fronts. And creative home chefs have figured out how to mask its texture. By spring of 2023, recipes for cottage cheese ice cream were going viral on TikTok. Scores of videos showed food influencers marveling over strawberry cheesecake ice cream, banana cream pie ice cream, berry banana ice cream and more — all made with cottage cheese. Now, in addition to ice cream, interested parties can find recipes for everything from buffalo chicken dip to bagels and biscuits. One account for a self-described health coach has a series of videos simply titled 'how to make cottage cheese taste good.' Coming up with more ways to use a product at home 'can drive an entire category,' Circana's Crawford said. And sellers of the until-recently not-very-cool cheese are leaning in. Cabot Creamery, which makes a Vermont-style cottage cheese (a mix of large and small curds), has posted recipes for cheesecake dip, pizza toast and queso on its website. Good Culture took advantage of its own viral moment with an ad campaign embracing the various ways of preparing and consuming its product. The sustained interest has Crawford convinced that demand for cottage cheese isn't just a passing craze. 'It is not a fad when you are seeing double-digit growth in both dollars and in volume, quarter over quarter over quarter, for two years,' he said. Now manufacturers just have to catch up. To increase supply, Good Culture has started working with more manufacturing partners. But it can't do much more at the moment. 'Most existing production facilities are maxed out,' Merrill said. Good Culture plans to have 'significantly more capacity available' early next year, he added. Organic Valley also works with contract manufacturers, 'many of whom are actively expanding capacity or adding production shifts to meet rising demand,' said Westrich, adding that 'the environment is highly competitive.' Dairy processors have started to build out more production, but it will take time to get new plants or equipment up and running. Daisy Brand, a major producer of cottage cheese and sour cream, recently broke ground on a new facility in Iowa. And Westby Cooperative Creamery, a farmer-owned dairy co-op that sells cottage cheese under its own brand and also makes it for private label and foodservice providers, is investing in new cottage cheese vats. Currently, Westby can make about 14.5 million pounds of cottage cheese per year, said Emily Bialkowski, the co-op's sales and marketing manager. But 'our orders are exceeding that by no less than 30%, and that does not include new inquiries,' she said. The new vats should be operational in the fall of next year, she said, noting that 'word is getting out … and many of our current customers have lined up to pre-commit to additional volume.' For now, Westby is partially filling customer orders. So cottage cheese fans will have to be patient. Or wait until TikTok moves on to the next big thing.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Friday Checkout: Could refreshed tech leadership put Albertsons on a path to success?
This story was originally published on Grocery Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Grocery Dive newsletter. The Friday Checkout is a weekly column providing more insight on the news, rounding up the announcements you may have missed and sharing what's to come. As Albertsons works to regain its footing following the disintegration of its plan to merge with Kroger, the supermarket company has moved quickly to refresh its senior executive ranks — and it seems to be especially convinced that its technology units need new leadership Albertsons' disclosure Thursday that it has brought on a new head for its retail media business emphasizes the grocer's efforts to put a new stamp on its technology operations. Brian Monahan, who will run Albertsons Media Collective as a senior vice president, is the latest newly appointed Albertsons executive whose portfolios include retail media, e-commerce or both. In the time since Susan Morris took over as CEO in May, Albertsons has named multiple new top-level executives in a bid to 'accelerate delivery of our strategy to earn customers for life in this bold new era for our company,' including a tech-focused chief commercial officer, and a chief technology and transformation officer. The changes at Albertsons come as the company faces intense pressure to stand out on the digital front as other retailers — particularly Walmart — continue to stride ahead with technology. The grocer announced Monahan's arrival just a week after announcing that its e-commerce sales soared 25% during the first fiscal quarter of 2025 and that it is moving toward breaking even with its delivery and pickup business. Speaking during an earnings call on July 15, Albertsons President and CFO Sharon McCollam noted that the company does not consider its retail media operations when it computes the profitability of its e-commerce businesses, unlike competitors. Still, while Albertsons certainly stands to gain if it can build a pure-play online business that is profitable, it's clear the company sees a tight connection between its efforts to sharpen its digital capabilities and its ability to build the durable customer relationships it will need to succeed in an era increasingly defined by technology. In case you missed it C&S seeks $400 million loan sale for SpartanNash purchase The wholesaler is looking to raise the money to help finance its nearly $2 billion acquisition of the food distributor, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. Orders for the five-year loan offering kicked off this week and will close on Aug. 5, according to the report. C&S and SpartanNash in late June announced the deal to create a combined company with almost 60 distribution centers and more than 200 grocery stores. Hannaford taps into feel-good marketing The Ahold Delhaize banner's newly announced campaign 'All for Good' wants to let customers know what the grocer is doing to help its customers and communities where it operates. Through television, radio, social media, digital and out-of-home platforms, Hannaford will share examples of how the grocer provides 'everyday care,' such as helping customers make healthy meals on a budget, supporting local farmers and investing in food access and sustainability initiatives, according to a press release. Publix ramps up expansion in North Carolina The grocer is expanding in the Charlotte region with plans to open a 50,000-square-foot store in Matthews, local developer Pappas Properties told The Charlotte Observer. Publix told the paper that the store is slated to open by late 2027. The grocer has several stores in the metropolitan area and has been steadily growing its store fleet across the Southeast. Impulse find They found love in an Aldi place A grocery cart collision recently turned into a love story at an Aldi in Minnesota. After Mark Haen accidentally banged his cart into the cart of Julie Quackenbusch, he remarked to his granddaughter how cute Quackenbusch seemed, he told the West Central Tribune. The three of them discovered their cars were parked next to each other, giving Haen and Quackenbusch time to chat. Haen then called Quackenbusch to ask her out, but she said she would be watching a parade on the suggested date. So Haen decided to do a 'crazy thing' and join the parade, he told the outlet. The two eventually went on a date, and the couple got married in St. Paul, Minnesota, in June. Their love story is just another reason to add 'find your true love' to your grocery list — and a reminder to grocers that their aisles could be a great place to host speed dating or a 'pineapple in the cart' event. Recommended Reading Albertsons looks to tried-and-true methods to bolster e-commerce Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
16-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Albertsons CEO says cottage cheese sales are up — and it's partly due to TikTok
Albertsons is selling a lot of cottage cheese. The grocery chain's CEO thinks she knows why. "This one, I had to double-check the numbers, but cottage cheese is actually a strong growth category," CEO Susan Morris told analysts on the company's earnings call. Morris was asked whether Albertsons had noticed an increase in healthier items due to the rapid rise of GLP-1 drugs, which include Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Ozempic. Patients who use the drugs are advised to eat protein-rich foods like cottage cheese. It's not just the diet drugs that are driving demand, though, Morris said. "Yes, some of that's from the focus on protein, lower carbs, perhaps GLP-1 users, and then, just being totally frank, TikTok is driving some of that," she said. "So, we're leaning into those categories." TikTok creators have found creative ways to get their cottage cheese fix. Good Culture, one of the top sellers, told Business Insider it noticed sales taking off in 2023 when creators talked about using cottage cheese in ice cream. Since then, popular videos have cottage cheese mixed into pancakes, bagels, and flatbread batter. On TikTok, there are more than 86,000 videos posted with the hashtag #cottagecheese. One of the most popular videos, 3 ways to make cottage cheese toast, has 5.3 million views. Albertsons is not alone in noticing this trend. Industry data shows that cottage cheese reached $1.75 billion, according to Chicago-based market research firm Circana. The data, published by the trade publication Dairy Foods, indicate that sales increased 18% in a 52-week stretch ending in Feburary. Last year, sales were up 16%. Good Culture, which launched a decade ago, told BI it recently partnered with a collection of creators, including chef and Mŏkbar owner Esther Choi, James Beard finalist Fariyal Abdullahi, and NYT bestselling author Jake Cohen. In 2024, Daisy, one of the mainstays in the space, announced a partnership with Bachelor star Daisy Kent. It wasn't always this way. According to US Department of Agriculture data, in 1975, Americans consumed an average of 4.6 pounds of cottage cheese per person. Consumption decreased in the decades since, bottoming out at an average of 1.9 pounds per person in 2021. Consumption has been rising in recent years — perhaps thanks to TikTok. In 2023, the most recent year available, Americans consumed an average of 2.1 pounds of cottage cheese per person.
