Dairy Product Manufacturers
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 1,150 dairy product manufacturers in the US produce dairy products from raw milk, processed milk, and dairy substitutes. Fluid milk products include milk of varying fat content, milk substitutes, cream, cottage cheese, sour cream, and yogurt. Other major product categories are cheese and cheese-substitute products; dry, condensed, and evaporated products; creamery butter; and ice cream and frozen dessert products.
Food Safety Compliance
Dairy foods are among the most regulated foods in the US due to the fact that raw milk can contain any number of dangerous pathogenic organisms.
Declining Milk Consumption
Per capita, fluid milk consumption in the US has been trending downward for more than 70 years and fell at a faster rate during the 2010s than in each of the previous six decades.
Industry size & Structure
The average dairy product manufacturer has about 143 employees, operates a single location and generates $113 million in annual revenue.
- The industry consists of about 1,150 companies employing 165,000 workers and generating $130 billion in annual revenue.
- There are about 225 fluid milk processors employing about 55,280 workers.
- There are about 400 cheese manufacturers with 57,965 employees.
- The 400 ice cream and frozen dessert manufacturers in the US employ about 22,765 workers.
- The dairy product manufacturing industry is highly concentrated - the top 20 companies account for 51% of industry revenue.
- Large US dairy product manufacturers include Nestle USA, Dean Foods, Schreiber Foods, Land O'Lakes, and Kraft Heinz Foods.
Industry Forecast
Dairy Product Manufacturers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Oct 23, 2024 - Producer Prices Rebounding
- The producer price index (PPI) for dairy product manufacturers, which measures prices before reaching consumers, rose 8.9% in July compared to a year ago after tumbling 10.6% in the previous July-versus-July comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Employment by the industry grew 2.3% year over year in July, while average wages at dairy products manufacturers rose 3.8% over the same period to $27.83 per hour, BLS data show. Industry payrolls have been rising relatively steadily since early 2021.
- Dairy farms – the first link in the dairy products supply chain – are disappearing, with the number of farms down 95% since the 1970s, Food Manufacturing reported in September. According to research conducted at the University of Tennessee, milk price rules, which determine how dairy farmers are paid for the products they produce, are a key reason why. Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMO) established in 1937 set a monthly, uniform minimum price for milk based on its end use. From 2005 to 2020, the cost of production – feed and labor – has increased while farmers generally received the minimum price. Researchers at UT found that on average, a single cow that produced 24,000 pounds of milk brought in about $4,457. Yet, it cost $6,192 to produce that milk. The FMMO is currently undergoing reform, which may help stem the tide of dairy farmers exiting, Food Manufacturing reports.
- According to Dairy Reporter, the combination of high milk prices and low commodity costs positions dairy farmers for a profitable 2024. The USDA forecasts record and above-trend yields for crops in 2024, including corn, soybeans, and wheat – all protein-rich grains that dairy farmers use to supplement cows’ diets and support milk production. Milk-over-feed margins (the difference between the price of milk and the cost of the feed to produce it) are “in the best spot they’ve been in in years,” Ever.Ag commodity broker Bryce Windecker told Dairy Reporter in August. With an ample crop of corn and soybeans expected and last year’s crop still in silos, feed prices should be attractive at harvest time, creating a buying opportunity for dairy farmers.
- A new study examining which label claims and product attributes matter most to dairy shoppers finds that animal welfare ranks above sustainability and “organic” matters the least, according to Dairy Reporter. More than 3,000 consumers across five European countries (UK, Czechia, Sweden, Spain, and Switzerland) were asked to rank 18 product attributes in order of importance as drivers of dairy purchases. They ranked as follows: freshness, quality and taste, animal welfare, healthy eating, nutrition, outdoor-reared/free-range, price, locally produced, fairtrade, processing, pasture-fed, sustainable packaging, food miles, special offers, carbon footprint, convenience of use, familiarity or brand, and, lastly, organic. In the US, market research by NielsenIQ and McKinsey of five years of US consumer spending data found consumers shifting spending toward products with sustainable claims in two-thirds of food categories, including cheese and yogurt, according to DR.
Get A Demo
Vertical IQ’s Industry Intelligence Platform
See for yourself why over 60,000 users trust Vertical IQ for their industry research and call preparation needs. Our easy-to-digest industry insights save call preparation time and help differentiate you from the competition.
Build valuable, lasting relationships by having smarter conversations -
check out Vertical IQ today.