One thing most of the recent diet trends have in common is a focus on protein and healthy fats. Low-carb diets — for example the ketogenic diet; various iterations of the paleo diet, the return of the low-glycemic index diet, all encourage replacing most of the refined carbohydrates (specifically flours, sugars, and starches) with protein.
While some of these low-carb/hi-pro trends might be used as nothing more than an excuse to put bacon in everything, processors who take seriously the designing of better-for-you products to conform to these diet trends are finding cheese to be a viable, versatile, flavorful, and economic feature player.