According to IRI, total U.S. Retail Cheese (defined as fixed + random weight cheeses) volume saw strong growth when consumers were largely at home during the 2020-21 pandemic years.

Cheese and dairy remain as popular as ever with consumers and retain their reputation for versatility among menu makers. It highlights just how ideally positioned this food category is for the near term, when the world is still dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic.

Any culinarian can tell you, if you want to move an item or entice customers with a new product, bring cheese into the picture and consumer interest immediately shoots up.

Remember when dairy products were sexy and on-trend? Food executives and consumers might recall the "Got Milk?" and the "Milk Mustache" campaigns in the early and mid-90s.

Look even more closely at product trends and you'll find that cheese is everywhere and is a driving factor in the value-added product push.

Borden® Cheese is shaking up the relatively unchanged segment with new shreds featuring a thicker cut for a smoother melt.

Doubles feature a dual-compartment container with cottage cheese on one side and a flavor mix-in in another.

The package has a re-sealable lid to keep the cheese fresh over multiple snacking sessions.

GO VEGGIE® improved the recipe of one of its most popular products – Vegan Shredded Cheese. Using a proprietary process, GO VEGGIE reformulated its Vegan Shreds to deliver a better melt and nutrition profile.