Low-carb craze thickens cottage-cheese profits
November 4, 2004
By Anne Fitzgerald
Anderson Erickson is finding success in other areas as well, such as new yogurt products.
The low-carbohydrate diet craze has cut sales for many products, but the trend has boosted demand for a generations-old favorite: cottage cheese.
"Nationally, cottage cheese sales were declining until this time last year," said Miriam Erickson Brown , president and chief operating officer of Anderson Erickson Dairy Co.
When low-carb dieters discovered that not all dairy products were off-limits, cottage cheese sales took off.
Anderson Erickson's small-curd cot- tage cheese "has always had a cult following," said Erickson Brown, addressing a Drake University lunch program Wednesday in downtown Des Moines.
Now, the low-carb cult is creating new demand for Mr. E's Garden Vegetable cottage cheese, named for her father, and AE's newly released Carb Nog , eggnog sweetened with Splenda.
The Adkins diet is just one of many ways that consumer demand is driving growth at the family-owned, third-generation dairy, established in 1930 by Erickson Brown's grandfather on Des Moines' east side.
The dairy, with 2003 revenues of $130 million, has expanded fruit combinations in its yogurt products, for instance. AE also has explored ways to capture demand for soy-based foods and organic products.
Erickson Brown named some AE innovations that failed, including a broccoli cheddar sour cream dip and strawberry lemonade yogurt.
The dairy's mainstay still is milk, accounting for about 70 percent of AE's annual sales, she said.
Ten years ago, surveys showed that many U.S. consumers thought all milk was fattening. Research also revealed that half of Americans older than 35 had stopped drinking milk daily.
Educational campaigns and research results have helped counter negative perceptions.
"I feel like I almost need a medical degree to sell milk . . . to decipher all of the breaking research," Erickson Brown said.
Source:www.desmoinesregister.com
|
