2025 U.S. Industry Statistics & Market Forecast - Cheese Manufacturing

Published: September 2025

Industry Insights

Major trends affect the Cheese Manufacturing industry include:

1. Increased demand for artisan and specialty cheeses
2. Rising consumer interest in organic and natural products
3. Growth in vegan and plant-based cheese alternatives
4. Impact of global trade policies and tariffs
5. Fluctuating milk prices influencing production costs
6. Technological advancements in production processes
7. Enhanced focus on sustainability and waste reduction
8. Changing dietary preferences and health consciousness
9. Expansion in export markets
10. Growth of online and direct-to-consumer sales channels
11. Increasing importance of food safety and traceability
12. Impact of climate change on dairy supply chains

U.S. Geographic Distribution: Revenue Statistics by State

Market Size by State ($ millions) indicates how the industry's competition is distributed throughout the country. State-level information can identify areas with higher and lower industry market share than average.

Income Statement (Average Financial Metrics)

Financial metrics provide a snapshot view of a benchmark "average" company. Key business metrics show revenue and operating costs. The data collected covers both public and private companies.

	Industry Average	Percent of Sales (Industry Benchmark)
Total Revenue	Order at top of page
Operating Revenue
Cost of Goods Sold
Gross Profit
Operating Expenses
Pension, profit sharing plans, stock, annuity
Repairs
Rent paid on business property
Charitable Contributions
Depletion
Domestic production activities deduction
Advertising
Compensation of officers
Salaries and wages
Employee benefit programs
Taxes and Licenses
Bad Debts
Depreciation
Amortization
Other Operating Expenses
Total Operating Expenses
Operating Income
Non-Operating Income
EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes)
Interest Expense
Earnings Before Taxes
Income Tax
Net Profit Net Income

Source: AnythingResearch Analysis of U.S. federal statistics

Compensation & Salary Surveys for Employees

Compensation statistics provides an accurate assessment of industry-specific jobs and national salary averages. This information can be used to identify which positions are most common, and high, low, and average annual wages.

Title	Percent of Workforce	Bottom Quartile	Average (Median) Salary	Upper Quartile
Management Occupations	4%	Order at top of page
Chief Executives	0%
General and Operations Managers	1%
Office and Administrative Support Occupations	7%
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	7%
Other Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	6%
Production Occupations	47%
Food Processing Workers	17%
Miscellaneous Food Processing Workers	17%
Food Batchmakers	15%
Other Production Occupations	24%
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders	14%
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders	14%
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	20%
Motor Vehicle Operators	6%
Driver/Sales Workers and Truck Drivers	6%
Material Moving Workers	13%
Laborers and Material Movers	11%
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	6%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Cheese Manufacturing Competitor Landscape & Key Companies [PREMIUM]

The most influential companies in the Cheese Manufacturing industry and adjacent industries either have large market share or are developing new business models and methods that could disrupt the status quo. We look at leading and emerging companies in the Cheese Manufacturing industry and adjacent sectors:

Market Leaders: Direct Competitors Companies with the largest market share, focused in this industry	Market leaders: Diversified Competitors Largest companies that have diversified operations in this and other industries
Innovators: Direct Competitors Innovative, Emerging, and Disruptive Companies that may influence the future direction of the industry.	Innovators: Diversified Competitors Innovators and Disruptors in adjacent industries that may also affect the Cheese Manufacturing industry.

Latest Industry News

• The Underrated Method of Making Grilled Cheese That Changed Everything - The air fryer is the perfect appliance to cook up delicious side dishes and game-day snacks but there's one more comfort food it makes perfectly: Grilled cheese that's crispier, cleaner and somehow even better than the frying pan version. (07/08/2025)
• Some of the World’s Best Cheese Comes From ... Self-Milking Cows? - At Rogue Creamery in Oregon’s Rogue Valley, cows are trained to milk themselves — with the assistance of two robots named Charlie and Matilda. This hands-off method is producing complex, delicious cheese that ranks as some of the best in the country. (07/07/2025)
• 5 Fast-Food Chains That Use Processed Cheese on Their Burgers - From McDonald’s to Sonic, these fast-food chains rely on processed cheese—not the real deal—for their burgers. (07/04/2025)
• Lactalis To Invest Over $75M In Two New York Manufacturing Facilities - Lactalis will modernize facilities, retain more than 800 jobs, and create more than 50 new jobs in Walton and Buffalo, New York. (07/03/2025)
• Vegan cheese could be about to get a lot closer to the real thing - A key milk protein for making cheese and yoghurt has been produced in bacteria for the first time, paving the way for better tasting but more sustainable animal-free products (07/02/2025)
• Bel Group to invest $10M in production unit for Laughing Cow cheese at Little Chute facility, will add 50 jobs - The Paris-based global dairy manufacturer plans to launch a new production line in Little Chute to produce the Laughing Cow cheese. (07/01/2025)
• Scientists Decode DNA of Greek Feta Cheese - According to the Academy of Athens, scientists decoded the DNA of the famous Greek feta cheese. Recently, scientists from the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens studied a wide variety of feta cheese produced all across the nation of Greece in an effort to quantify the nutritional specifics of the popular Greek cheese. (06/28/2025)
• The art and science of aging cheese with affineur Olivia Haver - So what does an affineur actually do? We asked Olivia Haver, an East Coast affineur who recently won the 2025 Daphne Zepos Research Award. She'll be using her grant money to study aging cellars around the US with the goal of developing a how-to guide for future affineurs. (06/27/2025)
• You're making your sandwiches WRONG! Scientists reveal why you should never use grated cheese - It's one of Britain's go-to lunches, dating back nearly 400 years. But according to experts, all these years we've been making the humble cheese sandwich wrong. (06/22/2025)
• Say 'cheese' — Why are Windsor cops recording public interactions? - Next time you encounter a Windsor police officer, smile and say cheese — don’t be surprised if your next such meeting is being recorded. As of last week, and following more than a year of pilot testing, (05/27/2025)