The success of U.S. cheese makers and cheese marketers has been the envy of others in the food business for more than two decades.

There’s good news to be found in the most recent sales data for yogurt, ice cream, and natural cheese. For milk, however, the glass is still half empty.

North American consumers seem to be eating a bit less ice cream and other frozen desserts and, they might be a bit more particular about what kind of product they select.

As part of a global effort to raise physical and mental health awareness, manufacturers are formulating products with functional ingredients associated with these areas of wellness.

Understanding the importance and value of packaging for new products continues to be a challenge for many organizations. They continue to see packaging as a cost center (the current package is the benchmark and why would we want to pay more than we do now?) and a liability (because the package must run on the current equipment).

The Tillamook County Creamery Assn., Tillamook, Ore., now markets Tillamook‚ Cookie Dough ice cream, while Brenham, Texas-based Blue Bell Creamery's newest flavor is French Vanilla Cappuccino Ice Cream.

Fiscalini Cheese Co., Modesto, Calif., rolls out a signature, Alpine-style cheese named Lionza. Inspired by the town in Switzerland's Italian sector where owner John Fiscalini's family has been dairying and making cheese for more than 300 years, this semi-hard, savory and fragrant cheese is rich and nutty with a touch of fruitiness.

Here's a top-line look at two of the great success stories in the dairy business: Organics and Exports

Global Ice Cream Introductions Accelerate

Mountainside Farms UltraPure™ milk represents an exciting new category in the fluid milk segment that bridges the gap between conventional milk and organic milk.