More meals at home this year meant people relied heavily on grocery store purchases. Kroger Co., America’s largest grocery retailer with nearly 2,800 stores, released a list of their top 10 trending foods in 2020. The good news is that dairy-related products made the list several times.
These trending items resulted from in-store, pick up, delivery, and shipped sales in 2020. Based on year-over-year sales growth, zero-calorie soft drinks topped Kroger’s list.
Following in second place was an item from the dairy aisle: four-cheese Mexican blend shredded cheese. This trending item has been growing in popularity the last two decades. According to USDA data, varieties of cheese categorized as Hispanic have nearly quadrupled in consumption, from 0.25 pound per person in 1996 to 0.93 pound in 2019.
A few spots later, in fifth place, was heavy whipping cream, another product directly from the dairy industry. Cream’s rise in popularity this year may be the result of more home cooking and a growing desire for full-fat dairy products.
The sixth spot was filled by fresh burger patties. With dairy beef contributing 20% to 25% annually to U.S. beef production, the popularity of hamburgers certainly has value for the dairy industry.
And then, in ninth place, was party-size bags of variety chocolate. While people were satisfying their sweet tooth, dairy products were being utilized as an ingredient.
If you are curious, the full list is as follows:
- Zero-calorie soft drinks
- Four-cheese Mexican blend shredded cheese
- Flavored potato chips
- Sauvignon Blanc wine
- Heavy whipping cream
- Fresh burger patties
- Artisan breads and restaurant style-buns
- Bulk individual coffee pods
- Party-size bags of variety chocolate
- Black forest ham
