U.S. organic cheese sales grew about 15 percent last year to reach an estimated $570 million, according to a new market report from Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com.
The report said the organic cheese segment grew by a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.5 percent between 2012 and 2015, and expects it to “continue to outperform the market in the future.”
The report, “Natural and Specialty Cheese in the U.S. and Global Markets, 6th Edition,” put total U.S. retail sales of “natural and specialty cheeses” at $17.4 billion in 2015. Packaged Facts said the “market is relatively mature” with sales growing by a CAGR of 4.1 percent since 2011.
“Consumption of natural cheese has increased over the last 10 years while processed cheese has declined,” the company said, without defining the term ‘natural.’ “The vast majority of natural and specialty cheese sales in the U.S. come from mass retail outlets and the most successful retailers have upgraded their cheese departments to offer more cheese-shop quality products.”