Snacking trends in dairy products, including yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream, natural cheese

American buyers love a snack – in fact, almost half of Americans nibble three times or more per day, a consumer trend that has been in place in the past five years, according to Circana, LLC., A market intelligence agency.

“It refuses and circulates between 46% and 49%,” said Sally Lyons-Wyatt, Global CPG and advisor to the food service industry in Circana. “The interesting part is not only this fact that consumers consume more snacks per day – this is what they consume that continues to evolve.”

Healthy snacks are growing

During the pandemic, snacking was much more on indulgence; This continued in the years that followed, but the tide turned in 2025.

“This year, we started to see more better options to grow,” said Lyons-Wyatt. However, at the same time, indulgence is there.

“But one of the changes is that consumers come to this harmonized approach to their well-being; They try to engage in their feelings and to reward themselves. ”

Buyers are also more willing to do what it takes to stay healthy, she added, fueling growth in a better snack for you.

“We have started to see better snacking options for you and that is an integral part of consumers’ desire for longevity.”

“The snacking has become part of Americans’ lifestyles-and the young generations are even more often more often than the 49% of statistics,” she added.

So what are the dairy products that excel in the snack space today?

Standard with yogurt and yogurt

Yogurt has jumped in average growing dollars in dollars in dollars (8.4%), unit (4.9%) and volume (7.3%) in 2024, according to Circana (see “Sources” below for the time and exact scope).

Yogurt was also one of the few categories that showed unitary resilience at the beginning of 2025 (the others being dried meat snacks, frozen dishes / aperitifs and healthy bars). Meanwhile, the croustilles, the cookies, the crackers, the ice cream and the chocolate candies have the sweetness of the experienced unit.

“Yogurt in general is a versatile product,” said Lyons-Wyatt. “This versatility is what kept him very current.” There is the yogurt that people could use for cooking, but there is also yogurt with additional advantages. Manufacturers have also made more flavors; They provided sugar -free and plant -based options.

“This variety has therefore extended it to more consumers who can opt according to their need and the function of what they are looking for.”

Although yogurt is always the most consumed in the morning, it is now a snack appreciated throughout the day – and new formats have contributed to expanding the scope of yogurt.

“We have yogurt drinks, travel options,” said Lyons-Wyatt. “So I think it helped consumption develop throughout the day.”

Yogurt drinks volumes increased by 8.5%in 2024, with strong growth also in dollar (10.4%) and unit (11.6%).

Ice milk

Ice milk – a frozen dessert based on skim milk with less than 10% fat – also gained popularity in 2024, in particular compared to the more indulgent ice cream category.

Ice milk has experienced two -digit growth (10.2%) and unit growth (10.8%) and high -figure volume growth (9.2%) in December 29, 2024. This growth rate was only overshadowed by yogurt drinks and Granola snacks / bars, the latter by seeing volumes increase by 17%in 2024.

Meanwhile, the growth of ice cream was relatively stable in dollar (1.6%), unit (0.5%) and volume (0.4%). This suggests that ice milk emerges as a low -fat alternative which is increasingly favored by consumers.

“Ice milk is much motivated by innovation and some new products that have entered this category,” said Lyons-Wyatt.

“But it is also a little lighter, which uses certain consumers. In addition, there is the portability aspect, and new options that have come to really generate some of these two -digit growth rates.”

Natural cheese

Natural cheese has also experienced growth at a figure in high figure during the year, with dollar rates (7.6%), unit (8.9%) and volume (8.2%) in 2024.

Formats such as pieces stimulate part of the growth, said Lyons-Wyatt.

“The cheese can be appreciated on the move, lunch or even replacing meals.

“It provides versatility and there is also the protein aspect of it.”

Cottage cheese

Cottage cheese has become a popular low -calorie snack and rich in protein on the back of a viral trend on social networks in recent years.

Its popularity has contributed to an increase in flavors in retail and even to the emergence of a brand of Cottage cheese, Smearcase (hear the founder Joe Rotondo on the brand functional dairy retorter, available on request now).

The category continues to grow – it jumped 13% in terms of volume (see source n ° 3 below) with marguerite brands and a good culture increasing their market share by 2.4% and 2% respectively.

According to Circana, the segment benefits from accessible pricing but of premium positioning, calls through health benefits such as low sugar and high proteins, and is also versatile as a cooking ingredient.

“Companies have come out of flavored cottage cheese, then social media really helped to make known all the different things you can do, it’s cottage cheese – including making ice cream,” said Lyons -Wyatt.

“So, the cottage cheese certainly wins. He may not see the boom he has done in the past two years, but he is still being powerful.”

Sources:

1. Mulo + with Confocied_52 weeks ending on December 24, 2024 // classified on a dollar sales
2. Mulo + with Confocied_52 weeks ending on December 29, 2024 // classified on the volume change
3. Circana Pos Mulo + & C Data ending on March 9, 2025, Circana Executive CPG & FoodService Advisory