It used to be that a grilled cheese sandwich called for American cheese. And a party demanded a processed cheese ball.

While the retail ice cream category has seen sales flatten and even tumble slightly in recent years, its novelties cousin has fared much better.

Like many other U.S. retail food categories, the ice cream category has been awash with innovation during the past few years. From lower-sugar, higher-protein formulations and portion-controlled offerings to "ice cream" that's ... well ... not really ice cream.

From cashew to banana "milk," it seems like nondairy milk alternatives have been popping up in every imaginable form in recent years. And conventional milk has suffered from the competition.

The U.S. retail ice cream segment certainly has seen easier times. According to "Ice Cream and Frozen Novelties - U.S.," a report published in May 2019 by global market research firm Mintel, the mature and diverse category is "finding growth elusive."

The good news continues on the cheese front. According to Portland, Ore.-based Allied Market Research, the U.S. cheese market was valued at $32.3 billion in 2017, and is projected to reach $40.5 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 2.8%.

When it comes to some key nondairy beverage categories, the spin of the wheel has been kinder to some categories than others. The odds have been in ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee and tea's favor, while juice seemingly is facing a gaffed wheel.

The state of the export market for U.S. dairy products is mixed: It depends on the dairy product that you’re exporting and on the destination of the product.

It seems that butter producers picked their numbers wisely. The cooking staple and flavor booster continues to show positive growth, with dollar sales of butter/butter blends up 1.3% (to $3,131.4 million) and unit sales jumping 2.5% (to 840.6 million) during the 52-week period ending Aug. 11, 2019, according to data from Chicago-based market research firm IRI.

The "one armed bandit" brought some good news and some bad news to the ice cream and frozen novelty segment in the past year. The good news? Frozen novelties saw a pretty payout, with dollar sales rising 4.2% to $4,906.3 million during the 52 weeks ending Aug. 11, 2019, according to data from Chicago-based market research firm IRI.