M. Shahbandeh
Research expert covering agriculture & FMCG
U.S. milk market - statistics & facts
Americans milk consumption has been reduced by over 50 pounds per capita in the past decade. This decline is projected to continue in the next ten years reaching just over 126 pounds per person by 2032. Among the milk products, whole milk is by far the top selling category in the United States selling over 15 million pounds last year.
Land O' Lakes inc., Dairy Farmers of America inc., and Saputo Inc. constitute key market players in the competitive retail sector. U.S. milk retail sales amounted to about 40 billion pounds in 2022. Within the category, whole milk took the lion's share of retail sales. Whole milk generated sales of over 14 billion pounds.
U.S. market overview
California and Wisconsin represent the most important milk producing states in the U.S. milk market. Combined they accounted for a production volume of more than 70 billion pounds of milk. Wisconsin is also known as “America’s Dairyland”, whereas California advertises with the slogan, “Happy cows come from California”.Land O' Lakes inc., Dairy Farmers of America inc., and Saputo Inc. constitute key market players in the competitive retail sector. U.S. milk retail sales amounted to about 40 billion pounds in 2022. Within the category, whole milk took the lion's share of retail sales. Whole milk generated sales of over 14 billion pounds.
Consumer market
On the consumer side, per capita consumption of milk is projected to decline significantly from 194.9 pounds in 2010 to 126.5 pounds by 2032. Fresh milk and cream expenditure of U.S. households captured a share of 32 percent of total dairy expenditure in 2021. As of 2022, Americans spent about 10.44 U.S. dollars on average on dairy products per trip to the grocery store.
