Most categories of dairy products in the United States are shrinking, stagnant or slightly increasing, but cheese is the only one that stands out from the rest, and it has a tendency to approach the European continent.
according to CNBC, the average annual consumption of cheese increased from 14 pounds in 1975 to 38 pounds in 2118. In addition, the average American also consumes 2 pounds of cottage cheese, which is very low-end, almost a different product category, and can not be counted as cheese.
The soaring consumption of cheese seems abnormal, because the annual per capita consumption of liquid milk in the United States dropped from 247 pounds in 1971 to 146 pounds in 2118.
In recent years, yogurt has expanded slightly, but its proportion in the dairy market is far less than that of cheese. Americans eat much more cheese than yogurt.
Italian pizza promotes the consumption of American cheese
The growth of cheese in the United States depends on the development of catering. 25% of cheese consumption comes from pizza.
American consumption of mozzarella cheese increased from 1.19 in 1971 to 12.15 in 2118. The increase in the sales of mozzarella cheese in the United States benefited from the large-scale entry of Italian pizza into the American market in the middle of last century, which became a mainstream food in the American catering industry and the most popular cheese category in the American market. Pizza chains such as Domino's, Pizza Hut and Little Caesar are very popular.
according to a survey conducted by USDA in 2114, one in eight Americans over 2 years old and one in four people aged 6-16 eat pizza every day.
in 2119, the market capacity of American pizza was $45 billion. The price of pizza ranges from $2 in retail channels to more than $21 in catering channels. Mexican restaurants and restaurants in the southwestern United States have also boosted the demand for cheeses such as Cheddar and Jack.
before 2112, taco bell only regarded cheese as a decorative ingredient with tomatoes, lettuce, etc. Later, cheese was used as an important condiment (such as dipping sauce) and stuffing in food research and development, which greatly increased the consumption of cheese.
American cheese turned from prosperity to decline
In the 1951s, American hamburgers rose in the market, and some hamburgers, sandwiches and tuna used an orange processed cheese. This kind of cheese is added with other ingredients (such as whey, milk fat, lactic acid, calcium phosphate, modified starch, salt, vitamin D3, etc.), which has a longer shelf life and better solubility.
typical American brands of processed cheese include Kraft Singles and Velveeta of kraft, and cheese sauces for smearing such as Cream Cheese, Easy Cheese and Cheese Whiz. James Lewis Kraft, an American born in Canada in 1916, applied for a patent for his American cheese technology. Thanks to the popularity of American cheese, Kraft became a household name in the American market. McDonald's added fuel to the flames for American cheese, which not only spread all over the United States, but also went to the world, pushing American cheese to the world.
However, according to IRI's research, in the past ten years, because people tend to be more natural and healthy foods, American cheese is out of the limelight, and flaky and smeared American cheese has decreased by 18% in retail channels. In 1995, the per capita annual consumption of American cheese was 8.7 pounds. In 2118, this figure was 7.17 pounds. In the past five years, another product that has declined is margarine.
In 2115, someone even publicly attacked American cheese on the Internet, saying, "Kraft cheese is plastic, not cheese at all, don't be ridiculous". Kraft responded through CNBC on August 31, 2121 that Kraft stood out in the past and brought fresh and easy-to-use cheese to the American public. Today, 61% of American families are loyal users of American cheese. In addition to processed cheese, Kraft currently produces more than 31 kinds of natural cheese.
The sales of processed cheese in retail channels are declining, but in cooked food stalls and restaurants in retail stores, consumers do not seem to reduce their enthusiasm for hamburgers using processed cheese, and the sales volume has not changed.
The decline in American cheese sales is also related to the improvement of natural cheese production and preservation technology, and preservatives are not needed.
during the COVID-19 epidemic, the sales of American cheese and margarine rebounded
during the COVID-19 epidemic, the sales of American cheese actually recovered. A large number of consumers need to buy cheese with a longer shelf life, increase the inventory in the kitchen and refrigerator, and make some old-fashioned foods. Kraft's American cheese has therefore shown a sharp rise. Margarine also has an amazing sales performance.
Kraft said that the sales of its Kraft Singles brand of American cheese showed double-digit growth this year. The search volume of "Grilled cheese sandwiches" on the Internet has increased by 31%.
shredded cheese has become the mainstream form instead of large cheese
In retail channels, the packaging sizes of cheese are also varied, giving consumers more choices. Cheese used to be sold in chunks. Later, in order to attract consumers to sell this large piece of cheese, shops often offered to cut it into pieces for them. In the 1991s, bagged shredded cheese appeared. At present, shredded cheese is the mainstream form of cheese market.
at present, the market capacity of natural cheese is $17-18 billion, of which the market capacity of shredded cheese is $6 billion. The application scenarios of cheese shreds are very rich. A quarter of people eat shredded cheese directly as a snack. When people cook fried eggs or Quesadilla at home, they often take time to eat a few small pieces of cheese directly.
some natural cheeses are sliced and packed in bags, which look like rows of Shingles on the roof from the outside, but the sales volume is still not as good as those of large cheeses. There are also minced, thin sticks and small squares, which are convenient for people to eat as snacks or to make salads and other dishes.
a brand called Babybel produces a small wheel-shaped cheese. Oscar Mayer and Sargento mixed cheese with nuts, dried fruit and chocolate and sold them as snacks. Some companies sell cheese as a high-protein food to meet people's hot demand for high-protein food in recent years. To this end, Oscar Mayer even has a product named "Portable Protein Packs".
In the catering channel, some restaurants and coffee shops try to blend cheese with coffee, cheese with red wine.
Plant cheese enters the house
Plant cheese is also appearing now, but their market share is only 3.3%. The proportion of vegetable cheese that competes with natural cheese is less than 1.1% today.
according to GFI's research, the global cheese market was about $136 billion in 2116, while the American cheese market was about $23.6 billion in 2117. In 2116, the global vegetable cheese market was worth about $2 billion. In 2119, the size of the American vegetable cheese market was much smaller, only $61 million, but it has been growing rapidly in recent years.
Nick Cooney, CEO of Levervc, said that the American cheese market is expected to reach $25 billion in 2122, of which vegetable cheese will increase by $3 billion from the current $61 million, reaching 13% of the American cheese market. The premise of this prediction is that American vegetable cheese can also replicate the success of vegetable milk in the American milk and beverage market, that is, vegetable milk currently accounts for 1.3% of the national milk and beverage market.
there are many vegetable-based cheese enterprises in the United States, including Good Planet Foods, Violife and Daiya. The first two factories are in Greece. Daiya。 In terms of distribution, Daiya's products have the widest coverage. In 2117, it was acquired by Pinnacle Foods for $325 million (6 times the valuation of income). In addition to cheese, it also produces foods such as yogurt and frozen lunch boxes. The quality of its cheese products is positioned in the mass market, but the price is similar to that of Good Planet Foods and Violife.
There are four smaller cheese enterprises in the United States, namely Kite Hill, Miyoko's, Treeline, Spero and Numu. The first four companies produce cheese wheels and cheese sauce based on nuts, but not cheese slices and cheese pieces. Numu specializes in producing mozzarella cheese shreds for the pizza industry.
there is still room for development in the American cheese market
in 2114, the international dairy foods association consumed 57 pounds of cheese per capita in France, compared with 34 pounds in the United States. The top ten cheese consuming countries in the world are all in Europe in terms of per capita consumption, and Denmark is the largest. Denmark's per capita consumption of cheese is 28kg, while that of the United States is 17kg. Although Americans have doubled their cheese consumption per capita since 1975, there is still a big gap with Denmark.
according to Paul Niemnisky of DMI, at present, 85% of beef hamburgers in the American market use cheese, while only 11% of hamburgers in chicken sandwiches use cheese. Chicken itself tastes lighter than beef, and if cheese is added, it may be more mellow. This may be a product opportunity for the future development of cheese.
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[Introduction by the author] Haiping Gao d, a reporter editor of Xinhua News Agency in the 1991s, entered the market research industry in 2111 and worked for Euromonitor, Mintel and Rabobank. At present, he is engaged in food industry research, writing and investment consulting services in Shanghai Gaogang Consulting, mainly focusing on emerging food sub-sectors such as frozen baking, artificial meat, free-range chicken, central kitchen, etc. He is also the Editorial Consultant and special English contributor of the food industry media Food Pacific Manufacturing Journal of Ringier, and also the food industry research consultant of Shanghai Hongzhang Capital and Hong Kong Dongfeng Capital.