Butter coming up all aces

Refrigerated butter is becoming more premium, Lara Gish, senior category growth manager of Spreads for Tillamook, tells Dairy Foods. “Consumers recognize that there’s a huge variety of butters available to them, and they are increasingly reaching for premium butter options, ones that are extra creamy and have high butterfat,” Gish says. “Tillamook’s butter starts with 81% fat for extra creamy flavor and performance in baking, and our strong butter sales tell us that people are continuing to seek out high quality butter to upgrade their dishes every day.”

Regarding margarine/spreads, the numbers also were impressive, with dollar sales jumping by 23% YoY to nearly $1.8 billion, while unit sales dipped by 3% to 477 million. Shedd’s Country Crock, a division of The Netherlands-based Upfield, led the way in terms of dollar sales, which came in at $646 million for the 52 weeks ending Aug. 13, double its next closest competitor, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter — also under the Upfield umbrella — which achieved $321 million in dollar sales, according to Circana.

Hence, butter and butter blends had a trendsetting year, performing at close to the level of 23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

In both refrigerated butter and butter blends, Land O’Lakes placed No. 1 in terms of dollar sales, topping a combined $1 billion, achieving $852 million in refrigerated butter and $363 million in butter blends, Circana data reveals.

“The butter category as a whole has seen an increase in household penetration and more frequent purchases, especially with younger consumers and families with children,” Heather Anfang, senior vice president for U.S. Dairy Foods at Land O’Lakes, tells Dairy Foods. “We love to see this type of growth and have a number of family-friendly recipes on our website, have limited batch flavors like Land O’Lakes Pumpkin Pie Spice Butter Spread, and create fun social content with butter hacks and more.”

Tillamook, Ore.-based Tillamook County Creamery Association’s refrigerated butter sales topped $52 million in dollar sales for the 52-week period ending Aug. 13, a 22% YoY increase, Circana data reports.

When it comes to butter, sales are serving up plenty of aces, with very few faults.

For the first time, refrigerated dollar butter sales topped $4 billion for the 52 weeks ending Aug. 13 in multi-outlets and convenience stores, according to Chicago-based research firm Circana. This $4 billion sales figure delivered an exceptional 22% year-over-year (YoY) increase. Unit sales were less robust, dropping a miniscule 0.5% YoY to 828 million. However, unit sales dropped far less than several other dairy categories.

Based on Circana data, butter blends had an even better overall year, as both dollar sales and unit sales increased compared to the prior year, a rarity among dairy categories. Butter blend dollar sales jumped by 13% YoY to $437 million, while unit sales increased 6% to just below 100 million.

Challenge Butter Snack Spread Lawry’s Seasoned Salt is a combination of freshly churned Challenge Butter and Lawry’s signature blend of salt, herbs and spices. For the first time, consumers can easily spread, top and drizzle Lawry’s Seasoned Salt on their favorite foods via this Challenge Butter Snack Spread, the company states.

“Our Butter Snack Spread line is designed to bring more flavor to our consumers, so we are thrilled to add Lawry’s, a family favorite kitchen staple to our latest offering,” said Michael Burdeny, president of Dublin, Calif.,-based Challenge Dairy Products Inc. “Challenge and Lawry’s products have been loved for generations and we predict fans of both will be ecstatic to easily elevate their snacks and meals with this new versatile butter.”

Challenge Dairy is the parent company to Danish Creamery, a 127-year-old farmer-owned U.S.-based creamery. Combined, they also announced in 2023 they have reinvigorated the packaging with a new contemporary aesthetic for its slow-churned, small-batch artisanal butter. The updated design portrays the premium qualities of Danish Creamery butter in a fun, current and colorful style designed to inspire creativity in the kitchen, the company says.

Aces for new butter products

Although new butter releases are sparser than those in the cheese and ice cream dairy categories, important products were certainly launched in 2023.

For example, Evanston, Ill.-based Kerrygold introduced new Butter Blends, a range of flavored butters for tasty snacking. Rolling onto store shelves across the U.S., the Butter Blends come in three flavors:

• Chive & Onion: The herby flavors of chive, onion, and parsley combined with Kerrygold’s original pure Irish Grass-fed butter result in a savory butter blend. Kerrygold Chive & Onion Butter Blend is intended for topping steaks or finishing veggies and sides.
• Sundried Tomato & Basil: Dried tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme, onions, and garlic come together with pure Irish Grass-fed butter to complete this fragrant and fresh butter blend. This combination is aromatic and spiced, paying homage to beloved Italian flavors.
• Bell Pepper & Garden Herbs: Kerrygold’s pure Irish Grass-fed butter blended with paprika, oregano, basil, onions, garlic and bell pepper make this a peppery addition to any meal.

U.S. farmer-owned butter brand Challenge Butter teamed with Lawry’s to introduce a new butter-based, seasoned Snack Spread variety designed to deliver a unique flavor and added zing, the company says.

Another legacy brand

Minerva Dairy is another butter processor that continues to see strength. The 129-year-old, Minerva, Ohio-based company processes butters including Sea Salt, Unsalted and Garlic Herb, as well as seasonal flavors such as Smoked Butter.

Minerva Dairy’s signature product is their Roll Butter, which has 85% butterfat (as opposed to the commodity at 80% or European at 82%-83%). This year, the family-owned processor signed a partnership with Atalanta. The partnership will allow Minerva to benefit from Atalanta’s distribution, warehouses and sales team. In turn, Atalanta will grow its portfolio of premium butter.

“Our butter gets a lot of attention. We see an opportunity to keep growing with our name,” Minerva co-founder Venae Watts told Dairy Foods earlier this year.

Although the industry will always have challenges, Watts is optimistic about the future of dairy. Like Tillamook, Watts also sees a bright light with premium dairy products.

“It tells me that consumers were in the grocery store and had the time to look at products and determine what they wanted [during the COVID-19 pandemic],” Watts states. “Consumers are smart people. They educated themselves and continue to buy premium products.”

Future championships at center court

Although consumption of some dairy products, such as milk, has declined during the years, the opposite is true for butter, as consumers love to add flavor to their favorite foods.

If past trends hold true, the future for butter consumption is positive. According to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Americans consumed 6.5 pounds of butter annually per capita in 2021, rising a full pound per capita per person in just seven years. The 6.5-pound figure is the highest number the USDA ever recorded, with data dating back to 1975.

“We expect to continue to see innovation through flavor varieties, particularly in the spreadable butter segment, as consumers continue to expand usage occasions and seek variety in their kitchens,” Anfang notes. “We are also expecting product offerings to continue to evolve in both form (such as with our Land O Lakes Butter Balls) and flavor to enhance the cooking-at-home experience.”

In the future, expect butter to grab the spotlight, moving far away from grandstand courts to New York City’s Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“With more premium butter options, consumers are finding new and creative ways to use butter, where butter becomes the star of the show,” concludes Tillamook’s Gish. “Whether that’s upgrading your baguette at dinner or adding it to a pie crust to serve for special occasions, consumers recognize that high quality butters are worth it.”

Strong sales and a solid future for butter: Game, set, match. DF