Tasty and versatile, cheese has long been a favorite food and ingredient of U.S. consumers. But recent sales data suggest the cheese segment has been struggling a bit, at least at retail. Dollar sales within the retail processed cheese category fell 3.7% to $2.8 billion during the 52 weeks ending Jan. 27, 2019, according to data from Chicago-based market research firm IRI. Unit sales declined by 4.1%.
Caves of Faribault, which is part of Edwardsville, Ill.-based Prairie Farms Dairy Inc., added two new artisanal varieties to its line of specialty cheeses.