Butter is on a roll

Saying that “butter is on a roll” may be a play on words, but it is definitely also the truth. Butter/butter blend sales today are incredibly smooth, jumping nearly 10% for the 52-week period ending May 18, with dollar sales reaching just slightly below $6 billion. Unit sales topped 1.1 billion, good for a 3% year-over-year (YoY) increase, according to Chicago-based market research firm Circana.

Under the butter/butter blends category, refrigerated butter is driving much of the growth. The subcategory’s dollar sales rose more than 10% to $5.5 billion for the 52-week period, while unit sales gained 3% to slightly more than 1 billion. No. 1 in dollar sales in this subcategory is private label, whose dollar sales picked up more than 10% YoY to $3.1 billion, as well as a 3% YoY unit sales increase to 581 million.

The refrigerated butter category had two big standouts: Ornua and California Dairies Inc. No. 3 seller Ornua, a Dublin, Ireland-based cooperative, enjoyed a 26% YoY dollar sales gain to nearly $865 million, pairing well with a 19% YoY unit sales increase to 136.7 million, according to Circana. Meanwhile, Visalia, Calif.-based California Dairies Inc., the No. 9 seller in the category, witnessed an eye-popping 138,547% jump in dollar sales to $34.5 million, paired with an 11,000% increase in YoY unit sales to 523,358.

Although refrigerated butter blends did not exhibit the same growth as its sister subcategory, it held its own, with dollar sales picking up 2% YoY to $443 million. Yet, unit sales suffered a slight 0.3% decrease YoY to 97 million. Arden Hills, Minn.-based Land O’Lakes sold nearly 20 times more butter blends than any other company for the period ending May 13. The cooperative’s dollar sales rose 4% YoY to $380 million, while unit sales picked up 1% YoY to 82 million.

Switching gears to creams/creamers, there’s more positive news. The overall category jumped 5% in dollar sales YoY to just shy of $7 billion. Unit sales gained 4% YoY to 1.6 billion, per Circana’s report. Refrigerated coffee creamers gained 5% in dollar sales YoY to $5.2 billion, along with the same percentage increase in unit sales to 1.1 billion. Nestlé USA is the No. 1 seller in this subcategory, with dollar sales picking up 0.4% YoY to $2.4 billion. The Arlington, Va.-based company’s unit sales jumped 4% to $488 million.

Under refrigerated coffee creamers, two companies authored stellar years ending May 18. Chobani and Oatly. New York City-based Chobani’s dollar sales skyrocketed 79% YoY to $388 million, with unit sales rising 66% YoY to 77 million. Swedish-based Oatly’s dollar sales increased 189% YoY to $14.7 million, along with a stellar 186% YoY unit sales rise to 2.7 million, reports Circana.

Refrigerated dairy half-and-half also posted solid results, with dollar sales increasing 6% YoY to $1.58 billion. Unit sales eked out a 0.5% YoY gain to 430 million. The No. 1 seller in this subcategory for the 52 weeks ending May 18 was private label, accounting for $928 million in dollar sales, good for a 7% YoY gain. Unit sales reported a more muted gain of 1% YoY. A standout in refrigerated dairy half-and-half was Aurora Organic Dairy. The company’s dollar sales jumped 40% YoY to 28% million, making it the No. 7 seller in the subcategory. The Boulder, Colo.-based company’s unit sales gained 36% YoY to nearly 4 million.

Refrigerated dairy cream also posted positive results. The subcategory’s dollar sales increased by 4% YoY to $203 million, while unit sales gained 2% YoY to $47 million. Private label was again the No. 1 seller in this subcategory, but its dollar sales declined by 2% YoY to $69 million and unit sales decreased by 4% YoY to 17 million. Picking up steam, however, was No. 2 seller HP Hood. The Lynnfield, Mass.-based company’s dollar sales ripped higher by 8% YoY to $37 million, while unit sales gained 6% YoY to 7.7 million, according to Circana.

On the negative side of the ledger were shelf-stable coffee creamers and frozen coffee creamers. Let’s start with coffee creamers, whose dollar sales dipped by 1% YoY to $980 million, with unit sales suffering a larger drop of 3% YoY to 172 million. Nestlé USA was the No. 1 seller, with its results closely mirroring the overall category. Its dollar sales dropped by 0.2% YoY to $550 million, along with a unit sales drop of 2% to 79 million.

Chobani again earns the moniker of a standout in this category, enjoying quadruple-digit gains YoY in both dollar and unit sales. The New York-based company’s dollar sales skyrocketed by 4,126% YoY to $7.2 million, along with a 2,690% rise in unit sales to 1.4 million.

Lastly, frozen coffee creamer sales — admittedly a small category — cooled off by 26% YoY to $354,001, while unit sales declined by 28% YoY to 75,439. While Rich Products Corp. is by far the No. 1 seller in this category, the Buffalo, N.Y.-based company’s dollar sales dropped by 29% YoY to $297,928, while its unit sales declined by 32% to 62,167.