UK cottage cheese gross sales increase as social media craze drives demand

If you happen to peered right into a UK fridge within the late Seventies, it’s greater than seemingly you’ll have discovered a pot of cottage cheese tucked between the prawn cocktail and sherry trifle.

A preferred “weight-reduction plan meals” on the time, demand waned in subsequent a long time because the high-protein, low-fat surprise meals fell out of style. However 50 years on from its heyday, cottage cheese is making a comeback within the UK, and has turn into an unlikely hit with health-conscious Gen Z.

Pushed by a wave of social media influencers sharing ingenious recipes for the dairy product, which is constituted of milk curds, UK retailers are reporting important will increase in gross sales, whereas producers are struggling to maintain up with demand.

“It’s come from completely nowhere,” stated Robert Graham, managing director of Graham’s Household Dairy. “Since Could of final 12 months, when there was a TikTok craze that went on, cottage cheese gross sales for us are up 40%.”

The corporate stated the expansion in manufacturing, the equal of an additional 2m kilograms a 12 months, means it’s taking a look at methods to extend output, together with an preliminary development plan to take a position £5m to bolster its manufacturing amenities.

“We’re contemplating new factories as a result of cottage cheese manufacturing is sort of full,” stated Graham, whose firm provides huge retailers similar to Co-op, Morrisons and Aldi.

Dairy firm Arla can also be benefiting from the cottage cheese rush, reporting a double-digit improve in gross sales within the final three months, whereas Marks & Spencer skilled a 30% improve in contrast with final 12 months, and Waitrose reported a 22% year-on-year rise.

Well being-conscious meals influencers are driving take-up with eye-catching recipes, from cottage cheese ice-cream to frittatas.

The most well-liked invention although, must be cottage cheese cookie dough.

Posted in Could 2023 by chef and bestselling creator Jake Cohen, the video of his concoction, which additionally included protein powder, went viral securing millions of views and spawning dozens of copycat recipes.

Nutrition coach and influencer Holistically Stevi’s TikTok recipe for cottage cheesecake has been watched 3.1m instances. She makes use of a blender to blitz collectively the important thing ingredient with maple syrup and protein powder, earlier than including damaged biscuits to the highest.

The TikTok channel Meals We Like to Eat shared three ways to combine it with toast, together with cottage cheese bruschetta and cottage cheese and fig jam, notching up 2.3m views.

Resulting from its excessive protein content material, the dairy product was promoted by the US authorities as a direct alternative for meat through the first world struggle.

Black and white posters produced to teach and inform the general public featured the declare that one pound of cottage cheese gave you extra protein than a pound of beef, lamb or rooster.

Vitamin knowledgeable Ursula Arens believes that right now’s revival could possibly be as a result of rising variety of weight-reduction plan plans that look to eradicate carbohydrates and increase protein consumption.

She stated: “Previously few years, there’s been a type of whispering marketing campaign that the extra protein you devour, the extra bulked and muscly you’ll look.”

Jimmy Dickinson, proprietor of Longley Farm, which has seen a “regular improve” in cottage cheese gross sales of about 10% over the past couple of years, remembers the earlier increase.

Longley Farm grew to become one of many first firms to start out producing cottage cheese within the UK within the Seventies. Dickinson’s father, Joseph, had the concept after seeing US servicemen chowing down their curds whereas he was serving within the Navy through the second world struggle.

“We’ve ridden this very lengthy rollercoaster,” stated Dickinson of the rise and fall in cottage cheese’s reputation.

He stated: “Within the Seventies the gross sales have been targeted on slimmers attempting to shed some pounds earlier than their vacation to Spain, now the curiosity could be very a lot, ‘I’ve simply swum 50 lengths, and I’ll eat cottage cheese as my protein repair on the finish of it.’”

For Marks & Spencer the cottage cheese craze has resulted in a double win. Not solely are gross sales up by 30% this 12 months, however it has additionally boosted its social media hits too.

A current video posted on its Instagram feed, in which influencer Em the Nutritionist shares her hot honey and cottage cheese toast recipe, has amassed 4m views.