Thank you for checking out our second Ingredients Issue, where there's separate stories on Cheese, Ice Cream, Milk, Cultured Dairy, RTD Beverages and Sports Nutrition.

One thing to take away from these stories is that dairy is performing well overall, for a variety of reasons, including health and wellness trends, social media videos, as well consumers’ continued love for indulgence.

For example, our cheese story concludes that demand for the category simply will not wane. Regarding milk, two-thirds of consumers still consume it, according to data we cite. Although that may have declined compared to 50 years ago, that is still a strong number.

As we enter the summer months, there is certainly nothing better than ice cream as a way to cool off, a trend we certainly believe will continue.

Zeroing in on ready-to-drink beverages, the category continues to grow and evolve as consumer needs evolve from post-workout recovery to on-the-go breakfast solutions.

In sports nutrition, the industry is no longer just about elite athletes who weightlift or seek to train for a sports event like a marathon or triathlon. This presents a tremendous opportunity for dairy processors.

Last, but not least, is cultured dairy. These are golden years for cultured dairy products, driven by TikTok influencers and health and wellness trends. This month, we also place an emphasis on yogurt, providing new data revealing the U.S. yogurt market reached $11.8 billion in dollar sales for the 52-week period ending April 20, representing an excellent 11.6% year-over-year (YoY) increase compared to the prior year, Circana reports.

To sum up: Dairy is in a good place. In the next several pages, we also look at several other aspects, such as ingredient flavor trends. Will the red-hot pistachio and brown butter flavor trends continue?

We hope you enjoy this report. DF