It used to be that a grilled cheese sandwich called for American cheese. And a party demanded a processed cheese ball. But these days, that grilled cheese sandwich increasingly is based on fontina or another fast-melting natural cheese. And that partymore often begs for a cheese plate of assorted natural cheeses.Its no wonder, then, that U.S. retail sales of processed cheese continue to decline, while those of natural cheese remain in growth mode. According to data from Chicago-based market research firm IRI, the retail processed cheese category saw dollar salesslip 1.5% to $2,803.6 million during the 52 weeks ending Jan. 26, 2020. Unit sales fell 3.0% to 717.0 million.Natural cheese dollar sales, meanwhile, rose 2.1% to $13,294.9 million. Unit sales climbed 1.1% to 3,990.7 million.
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