Dairy product retail sales across all categories closed on a positive note at year-end with purchases at a higher rate in 2020 than 2019, as reported by Dairy Management Inc. from IRi Monitoring.

* Milk volume rose at retail by 2% in 2020 compared to 2019
* Cheese volume rose at retail by 13% in 2020 compared to 2019
* Yogurt volume rose at retail by 4% in 2020 compared to 2019

Full Sales Summary

MILK

  • Milk volume rose at retail by 2% in 2020 compared to 2019, reversing previous years of decline. December volume was up 1%.
  • Both conventional milk (gallon-size) and value-added products (lactose-free and organic) saw growth.
  • Households with kids and higher per capita households contributed to above average growth.

CHEESE

  • Cheese volume rose at retail by 13% in 2020 compared to 2019; December volume was up over 7.5%.
  • Cheese varieties and forms associated with meal preparation saw strongest growth.
  • Similar to milk, households with kids and higher per capita households contributed to above average growth.

YOGURT

  • Yogurt volume rose at retail by 4% in 2020 compared to 2019, overturning the previous year’s downturn. December posted a stronger lift at 6%.
  • Larger size tub packaging, low-fat varieties and Greek yogurt made the strongest contributions to 2020 growth.
  • Households with kids contributed to above average growth.

OTHER DAIRY PRODUCTS

  • Growth was observed across all “Other Dairy” products
  • Among “Other Dairy” products, butter, a strong ingredient in baking/cooking, and dairy cream delivered strong sales increases.
  • Higher per capita households were a contributing factor to above average growth across all “Other Dairy” products.