Anuja Miner, the executive director of ABI, attributed the increase in part to a shift in consumer preferences away from highly processed foods, artificial ingredients and trans fats derived from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began the process of banning trans fats from the American food supply.

“Margarine and other spreads are no longer viewed as healthier alternatives,” she noted, consumers are demanding more pure and natural products. Since 2002, Americans increased their butter intake by 25%. In 2012, per capita consumption reached 5.6 pounds a year, up from a low point of 4.1 pounds in 1997.